LOVELESS part 1: Desiderium
by Sugihara
Summary: Naomi leads a normal life. Right up until she suddenly wakes up in Edge. Trying to find out how she got there and find a way back home she finds out things which might actually make her determination waver. Various pairings planned. Please R&R Rating for language and suggestions.
1. In need of a suitable solution

_Just to be safe: I don't own anything related to Final Fantasy. Only the plot is mine. And my original characters. I don't make any profit with this._

_And I guess I need to make this clear: I know Genesis looks like Gackt (everyone knows why) and Naomi happens to know someone who looks like him, too. But there will be _**NO**_ Gackt in this story. I am not going to write about real persons at all. Every character in here is purely fictional. Plus, this is mostly AU. I actually ignored some parts from DoC, though I decided to keep the background._

* * *

**Chapter 1: In need of a suitable solution**

"Aaawwww… you've got to be kidding me!" Naomi exclaimed, her mobile phone pressed to her ear. "No, seriously." She listened for a while and pulled a face. "I should hate you, did I ever tell you that?" she complained. "Honestly. Duh. You're such a big meanie!" A delighted laugh escaped her. "Yeah, right. I get it." She nodded, and then rolled her eyes. Of course, the person she was talking to couldn't see that. Not that she cared, though.

She was too preoccupied with her phone call to notice someone quietly stepping up behind her. A pair of thin but well muscled arms slid around her waist. This made her take a look over her shoulder. Upon seeing her boyfriend, her face broke into a wistful smile.

"Nah," she said. "If you want to be like that, go ahead. See if I care." She listened again. "Forget it. I'm not going to fall for your act, you know." She suppressed a sigh as she ran a hand through her pink hair. "What do you mean, I – Kôji!" she growled threateningly. "Don't you dare –"

The arms around her waist twitched and loosened their grip a little. Naomi raised her eyes to the ceiling, taking a deep breath before she released it. She put a hand on one wrist to keep it from disappearing. "Sorry, but I've gotta go," she said, now with a note of impatience in her voice. "I'm fine, really. Tell Yû I said '_hi_', okay?" She closed the connection and turned around, lips pursed and eyebrows creased.

Deep brown eyes raked over her face, slightly narrowed.

She disengaged from his now half-hearted embrace and stepped back. "Please, don't start that again," she said with a sigh.

"Start what, exactly?" he wanted to know.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I didn't even say anything."

"No, but I know what you're thinking," she retorted tiredly. "Look. I know you don't like Kôji. Or Yûichi. And I know they're not too fond of you, either. But guess what? I don't care. Not anymore," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Before he could reply, she raised a hand to stop him. It was pretty obvious what he was about to say. "They're my friends. We work together. That's a fact. Has been and will be. Live with it or don't. Your choice." She crossed her arms and turned away from him. "I really can't put up with this any longer."

He remained silent for a while. "And what do you intend to do about it?" he asked eventually.

"Me?" Naomi whirled around and glared at him. "Why am _I_ the one who has to do anything about it?"

"No. I –"

"Damn it! Do you actually think I _like_ that you're always at each other's throats as soon as you lay eyes on each other? That I _enjoy_ to always end up in between, trying to establish some kind of truce? That I can barely spend time with them just because you're jealous?" she asked incredulously.

"I'm not jealous. I just don't like them," he snorted.

Naomi barked out a laugh. "Sure." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "That's why you're so _nice_ to them and always so _cheerful_ when you know I'm with them." She shook her head. "You act like I'm your property. Like I need your permission just to _talk_ to them," she continued in a flat tone. "I don't understand why you can't accept that we're friends."

"I never said you can't be friends with them."

She heaved a deep sigh and sat down. "What's up with that attitude, then? There's nothing indecent going on between us. But every time I…" She cocked her head. "You know what? Forget it. I can't do this. Not anymore. Not like this. And I'm not going to quit the band."

His expression turned blank. "I'm sorry, I…" He paused. "What do you expect me to do?"

She rubbed her face with both hands. "Honestly? I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe we should take some time and think things through…"

He nodded slowly, but didn't say anything. After giving her a thoughtful look, he simply left.

She didn't follow him. Not this time. She'd done that often enough. She groaned, hiding her face in her hands. Why couldn't things be easier? Was she just too stubborn to give in? Actually, she didn't think so. She had every right in the world to choose her friends by herself. If he didn't like them, it was his problem. He should stop making it hers as well.

When it came to friends or lovers, there should not be a '_first come, first serve_' in her opinion. But if it came down to that – she'd known Kôji and Yûichi long before she'd met him. And she didn't want to neglect her friends any longer, just because of some guy who thought he was her only priority.

All this bitching since she'd first introduced him to Kôji and Yûichi was way too much to take. It would drive anyone insane.

"I just wish things were different," she sighed. Then she shrugged. "Well, sucks to be me, I guess." Sometimes, she really just wanted to get away from all this. But she'd never leave her friends. And simply running away wasn't her style; nor would it help solve this situation. She didn't see any way to make this relationship work. Hell, she shouldn't have to. So there was only one alternative left for her.

Oh, she was _so_ looking forward to this…

* * *

"I just can't believe it!" Kôji exclaimed as he entered the room, where his best friend had been waiting for him to return.

"What is it this time?" Yûichi asked lazily, though he could easily guess what his guitarist was talking about. There was only one topic – or rather one person who would set him off like this.

"What do you think?" Kôji demanded, throwing his hands into the air. "Of _course_ that dick who acts like Nee-chan belongs all to him."

The vocalist rolled his eyes. "So you had another run-in with Mr Jealous?"

His friend shook his head. "Nah. I was on the phone with Nee-chan, and after a while she was suddenly all like '_gotta go, sorry_', and hung up on me." Running a hand through his messy red hair, he heaved a deep sigh. "So there's only one guess on why that was."

The other man was silent for a while as he contemplated the subject. "We need to talk to her," he stated slowly. "This can't go on forever. We all know that."

"Sure," the guitarist agreed. "Oh, and she said '_hi_', by the way."

Yûichi nodded. "How long do you think it will take her to realise that she has to make a choice?"

Kôji sighed. "I don't know. I don't think she wants to choose at all."

"Of course not. I wouldn't expect her to. But I fear that he will make her decide between him and us. Regardless of what she wants."

The redhead couldn't deny that. He just didn't get why she still put up with this. And he really didn't see how she could be with a guy like that. Was he that great? What did she see in him, that she let him order her around? That wasn't her style.

And yet, whenever she spent time with them, her friends and colleagues, he was giving her a hard time, being overly jealous and possessive. They barely saw her any more, except for when they were recording new songs, rehearsing or shooting a video.

It was only a matter of time before things went completely out of hand.

"You know... I'm kinda worried," Yû admitted. "I don't think she will quit because of him. But –"

"Don't even think about that!" Kôji cut him off. "You know she won't. Ever. We just need to remind her that we're still more than just a bunch of people who incidentally work together."

"You're right, of course," Yûichi said. "Sorry."

Kôji nodded. "We should take her out."

"Huh?" Yûichi gave him a blank stare. "Out where?"

The guitarist shrugged. "Dunno. Somewhere." He tilted his head. "I guess we should have a word with Rikuo."

The vocalist snorted. "You know he doesn't care about our personal issues. At least as long as they don't affect our work."

"I'm not saying we should go talk to him about _that_," Kôji replied irritably. "But we haven't been on tour for a while. So it's high time, don't you think? That would get her away from that jerk, and give us the chance to talk to her without him intruding. We'd kill two birds with one stone, you know?"

Yûichi straightened up. "Now, _that's_ what I think may be one of your best ideas yet," he said, completely ignoring his best friend's smug expression. He laid an arm around Kôji's shoulders, and they left the room. "Then let's go find him!"

* * *

A few days later found (R)Evolution's lead guitarist in front of the studio building, uncharacteristically indecisive as to whether she should enter. Today they were officially off work, but she knew that her friends would be there anyway. A shiver went down her spine. Maybe it was better to just turn around and leave. Come back some other time to talk to them. To apologise and admit that they had been right all along. Come back when it wasn't obvious that she'd been crying.

She wasn't someone who cried easily. She hadn't expected that the break-up would hurt this much. Sure, she had been in love with him. But staying together was simply impossible. She knew her decision had been the right one. But still, it hadn't been easy.

Rubbing her hands together, she finally made up her mind and entered. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. She couldn't avoid her friends forever. Her feet automatically carried her to the small studio room the guys usually occupied during their off time. Even though she had barely accompanied them for the past few months, she could still find it in her sleep. When she opened the door, however, the room was empty.

She stopped dead in her tracks and blinked a few times. She had been so certain to find them here, that she'd never even considered the possibility of them being somewhere else.

Naomi grimaced and made her way to the cafeteria. That was the second place in this building where they usually spent a lot of time. But she couldn't find them there either.

Now she was at a loss for options. Where could they be, if not here? Had they switched to some other favourite place, one she didn't know about? Maybe she'd been too busy keeping her ex away from them, trying to distract him, for too long for her to notice.

The simplest thing to do would be to call them and ask where they were. But this thought didn't even cross her mind. She'd never been someone who'd just go for the easy way. Anyhow, she hadn't even remembered to take her mobile phone with her.

With a groan she turned on her heel and immediately ran into someone who had just entered the cafeteria. "Ouf..." was all she could say right now.

"Now, now... where to in a hurry?" an amused voice spoke up in front of her. One she knew all too well. She rolled her eyes, and all she wanted to do was get away from here. "I'm busy," she muttered without so much as looking at him, and was about to leave as he blocked her way.

"Don't be like that, sweetie," the tall guy chuckled.

Finally looking up, she could see a glint of mischief in his dark eyes. The black hair that framed his face was carefully untamed as usual. "Markus," she muttered darkly. "Don't call me that. How often do I have to tell you?"

"As often as you need to actually mean it," he grinned at her. "Looking for your friends? Or someone else?"

"None of your business," she told him flatly, though her chest tightened uncomfortably. He just had to remind her. Damn him.

"Something wrong?" Markus wanted to know. The grin faded from his face and he raised his eyebrows.

She shook her head. "I'm fine." He was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. And he should know this. He knew her too well for her sake and for her to be comfortable with. They'd known each other for ages.

He sighed. If she didn't want to talk about it, she just wouldn't. No one knew that better than him. There was no way to change her mind once it was set. Sometimes he thought she was too stubborn for her own good. But that was just the way she was. And he actually liked her determination. Usually. "Come on, I happen to know where you can find Kôji and Yûichi. I guess you're looking for them, so I'll just show you the way."

For a second she closed her eyes. And again, she wished that things were different. Then she rolled her shoulders and followed him.

As they waited for the elevator he risked a glance at her profile. She was rather pale, biting her lower lip. Something must have happened. If he dared make a guess, he'd say she'd just broken up with her boyfriend. He could even understand her if she had. "So," he said casually. "Am I right to think that you won't avoid me any more?"

"Huh?" She turned to face him, one eyebrow raised. "Avoid you? You're directing our music videos. So how could I even try to avoid you?"

"You know what I mean," he replied, barely suppressing a sigh.

Naomi tilted her head. "I didn't avoid you."

"Course you did." There was no point denying it. "Did you actually think that guy would kill me if he saw you with me?"

Now she took a small step back. "I would've been more worried about him than you," she said. The doors to the elevator opened, and they stepped inside.

Markus laughed at her remark. "Thought so. Though I don't know what I could possibly do to him."

The guitarist shrugged. "Knowing you... most likely drive him insane." A small smile was visible on her face. "Like you do with everyone."

"Hey, that's not true!" he protested, which actually made her laugh. "Now, that's better," he said with a smug grin. "You should do that more often."

She snorted good-naturedly. "I do it often enough."

"From what I can tell, not that much lately." He ruffled her hair. "But I guess I don't need to worry about you now."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "You worry too much anyway. All of you," she muttered. "I'm fine."

"Glad to hear that." He actually meant it. Just because they were not dating any more – how long had it been? Six years? – that didn't mean he disliked her now. And he knew she didn't hate him, either. Even though she didn't want to admit that.

* * *

Reno was bored. Like Hell. Of course, he had been pretty glad about Sephiroth being gone (for the second time already; or rather the third, to tell the truth). He still was. But rebuilding just wasn't as exciting as fighting the bad guys. Whoever the current bad guys were.

Right now, it was actually too quiet for his liking. Whenever Rufus had an appointment, the once so glorious Turks acted as his bodyguards. Sure, that had always been part of their job. But it really didn't give them a whole lot to do.

This didn't make him dislike being a Turk, though – heck, he still loved it – but he craved more action.

Of course, there were still monsters roaming some places. Everyone knew that. But during the past few months a lot of self-proclaimed monster hunters had popped out of seemingly nowhere. A few of them actually survived their new profession. And with Hojo gone, there was no one to create new ones, which was a relief. But that left even less to do for the Turks.

With a deep sigh the redhead got up from his sofa and dragged his feet to the door. Why couldn't life get more interesting again? He knew that his carefree and laid back attitude gave people the impression that he was some lazy git. But what did he care? Only his job and his comrades were important, anyway.

Outsiders weren't supposed to know that a Turk was actually as human as everyone else. They had worked hard for their reputation, after all.

Though Elena seemed to have forgotten that. Seeing as she tried to make friends with just about anyone. What did she think she was? A Turk or a commoner? She'd do better not to try to be both. Not that he couldn't understand her. But barely anyone would ever accept a Turk among regular people.

Sometimes, Reno preferred it that way. The only people who mattered were his fellow Turks, and, of course, the president. He didn't really need anyone else.

This could get a bit frustrating at times, though. The world had changed. Shinra had changed. The Turks had changed. But still...

People still blamed Shinra and anyone associated with the company, for everything that had gone wrong. They had conveniently forgotten that they had been pretty comfortable with what the company had offered them, had done for them. Most of them, anyway.

And it would be nice to be able to enjoy a bit of a social life again. Talking to other people. Flirting with chicks. But being a Turk nowadays didn't allow for such nonsense. Even though the president would surely encourage them, if there were any point in trying.

Gosh! Reno rubbed his temples. He was glad that he was on his own right now. If Rude or Tseng knew he had a moment like this... No way. Or Elena. He could already imagine her reaction. And him wanting to kill her for it.

He just couldn't have this. He was a _Turk_, for Gaia's sake! So he should get a grip and act like one.

Rolling his shoulders, he finally stepped out of his house and wandered the streets, in search of something to pass time with, hoping against hope that something exciting would happen. Sooner rather than later.

* * *

It was nearly closing time. Only a few customers were still occupying the tables, drinking, talking. It wouldn't be long until they left for their homes and families, though. Every night they left at approximately the same time. So Tifa knew that she could call it a day soon.

Though it would be lonely to go to sleep alone – again. And there'd be no one here to talk to. Cloud was away on business. But even if he were here, it would be sort of awkward. Since his latest defeat of Sephiroth he had opened up to her considerably. But he still preferred to be on his own.

Tifa pressed her lips together. She wished that he would finally feel at ease with her. Just like he had with Aerith.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. They all had felt at ease with Aerith. The Ancient had been the best friend Tifa could have wished for. But also her greatest rival when it came to Cloud.

The scraping sound of a chair being pushed back made her jump. One by one, the last few remaining guests got up from their seats.

"Bye, Tifa."

"Bye, Josh."

"Take care, sweetie."

"You too, Marvin."

And with that, they said their goodbyes, and were gone. From one moment to the next, she was all by herself. Now she was finally able to close up and clean the place.

It was a comfortable routine. While she was busy, she could contemplate whatever was on her mind, and no one would disturb her. Though sometimes she would prefer to be able to share her thoughts with someone.

Since the children were already asleep, she really was all alone now.

After she was finished cleaning, she felt kind of restless. She pushed the chairs up to the tables, one thought chasing the next. Most of them were about Cloud and Aerith. What had she done wrong? Why had Cloud turned his attention from Tifa to the flower girl? And why – oh, why – wasn't he able to let go?

Why couldn't she?

Tifa shook her head. She should finally stop asking herself those questions. If she didn't, she'd surely go crazy at some point. Especially since she had no one to discuss those topics with.

And she seriously missed having a close friend whom she could talk to. About anything. A friend like Aerith had been. Someone who really listened, and gave advice when it was appropriate.

Of course, she knew she had friends. Yuffie, for instance. But Tifa honestly doubted that the young ninja would take her concerns seriously.

Tifa heaved a deep sigh. Enough of this. She squared her shoulders, then turned off the lights and left the store.

* * *

It was never completely dark in the cave near Nibelheim. There was always a faint glow that never died, only changed its intensity. Always following the mood of its source, though no one knew about this fact. Barely anyone knew about this cave, for that matter.

At the far end was a crystal. It contained a person with flowing long auburn hair, tied into a loose ponytail. She was dressed completely in white, and her hands were folded under her chin, like she was praying.

Vincent was kneeling a few steps away, not for the first time since he had learned about the crystal and its content's existence a few years prior. But never before had he been here for as long as he had now, telling her what he felt she needed to know.

He looked at her, his torn cape spread out behind him. His claw tightened. She had been frozen in that crystal for many years. His Lucrecia. The love of his life. The one he'd failed. The person he was just saying goodbye to.

He got up, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Thank you," he said whole-heartedly. "It was you. You were the reason I... survived."

Finally having said this, he turned around and made his way out of the cave. Since he now had his back turned on her, and only looked forward for once, he didn't notice a tear rolling down her cheek.

If only he knew! If only she could move or at least speak to him. Anything but only listen. But the crystal was a most effective prison for her. A prison she had once chosen for herself. Now she regretted it.

She was so sorry. Though she was happy to hear his words, they also hurt. It seemed that she would never see him, or listen to him, again. That he would never come back here.

_Please_, she thought desperately. _I want him to be happy._

She knew he needed someone he could depend on. And also someone to protect. There would never be someone who could replace herself for him, that much was obvious. But past events had proven that she wasn't the one for him. As much as she loved him, she was aware of the fact that she'd never deserved him. He was too good for her.

He needed someone like... But no. It would be better for her to stay where she was now. As long as she did, she was safe.

Lucrecia hadn't seen her in years. She would have liked to see her grow up, to get to know her. Though she felt like she knew her better than anyone else. Thanks to Marc.

Should it ever happen that she returned... well, there was no way that she'd come back on her own. But in that case, Lucrecia would try anything to make Vincent find her. He could protect her. And maybe she could save him.

And if not...

Well, since she couldn't get out of this crystal, there was nothing she could do but hope.

For now.


	2. Weird doesn't cover it at all

**Chapter 2: Weird doesn't cover it at all**

Naomi didn't recognise her surroundings as she entered the room. She took a look around. She seemed to be alone here. In a place she had never seen before. But somehow, she had the feeling that she wasn't here for the first time.

How could this be?

She ran a hand through her hair. Maybe this was a dream. That would explain how this place could feel familiar to her, even though she couldn't remember seeing it before.

She gave a curt nod. That must be it.

The room was barely lit. This made it hard to discern the interior. She could make out a desk with a chair. A few cabinets. In the corner, something that looked like a glass tube. Next to that, a table.

Upon stepping forward, she saw that the cabinets were filled with files. Naomi squinted. There were names written on those files.

Now she was confused. She raised a hand, her fingers tracing the spine of one folder. _Project S._ She'd never heard of this. Or the next one. _Project G._ Maybe something her father had worked on? But if he had, he would surely have mentioned this. Right?

And she would certainly remember if he had talked about any projects. Even if she would never have bothered with the details. Science was not her field of expertise. Her father, on the other hand, had been a renowned scientist. Though, as her parents had told her, after Naomi was born, he'd settled down and contented himself with teaching.

The next file gave her pause. _Project C._

A shiver went down her spine. Her intuition told her that this was something important. And it was more than mere curiosity that made her pick the folder from the shelf. She wasn't sure if she should read it. It would probably be all gibberish to her anyway.

Before she could come up with a decision, though, she froze. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck lifting. Hugging the folder tightly to her chest, she took a tentative step back. Then she heard footsteps.

Naomi stood rooted to the spot. Who could that be? Did she actually want to know? She shook her head and looked around. There was only one door.

Damn.

How was she supposed to get out of here? Hiding under the desk would be pointless. She couldn't see any windows. As quickly and quietly as she could manage, she hurried to the corner. The glass tube was filled with some sort of greenish liquid. But it was raised on a platform. Maybe she could try to hide behind that, if she made herself as small as possible.

Her skin prickled. She dropped to her knees, the folder still pressed to her chest, and crawled into the small space between the wall and the platform.

She heard someone enter the room and held her breath. Now she was rather glad about the semi-darkness, as she squeezed into the corner. She hoped they'd think the room was empty and just leave.

But no such luck.

The footsteps continued until they stopped somewhere in the middle of the room. No one said anything.

Naomi cursed inwardly. Why couldn't she just wake up? This was a dream, for Christ's sake!

But was it, really?

Her fingers started to go numb, because she gripped the folder so tightly. She couldn't keep her legs from shaking. But she didn't dare move, or even relax, for fear to make any sound.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," someone called softly.

Naomi winced. She just couldn't help it. Then she blinked. She knew that voice. Her pulse quickened, and she had to take a deep, calming breath. Her muscles tightened, ready to lunge at him.

She barely managed to keep still, but it was a close call.

Naomi didn't need to see his face to know who it was. There was no way to mistake that voice.

What she didn't get, though, was why he was here. And why the fuck he would be looking for her. What did he even want? She had never liked him. Mostly because she couldn't forgive him for taking advantage of her best female friend. Anyway, he was simply too full of himself. He thought almost everyone to be beneath him, or just too immature to be bothered with. If there was any person at all whom she despised, it would be him.

Just as she tried to figure out how she could get away without him noticing, she heard him step closer to her.

"There you are." The satisfaction in his voice was unmistakable.

Naomi looked up. The smug grin on his face made her blood boil. Who did he think he was? Narrowing her eyes at him, she rose to her feet, shaking all over. It took her about every ounce of will power she could muster to not scratch out his eyes and wipe that awful smirk off his face.

She finally removed one hand from the file she was still clutching to her chest. Her fingers started to prickle immediately as the blood could circulate freely once again.

When he took a step towards her, she took one back and hit the wall. Without wasting any time, she stepped onto the platform, trying to shove the glass tube in his direction. At first, nothing happened.

He simply watched her, one eyebrow raised. He obviously wasn't worried.

Naomi ground her teeth. Bastard! She pushed harder, using her whole body now, and finally, slowly, with a grating sound, the damn thing moved. She threw all of her weight against the glass, and it tipped over. She saw his eyes widen, and couldn't suppress a grim smile. That would teach him not to mess with her!

She didn't wait for the collision, however. She jumped off the platform and ran for the door. Behind her, the glass tube smashed to the floor, spilling the liquid all over the place.

The strange stuff soaked her jeans and trainers. She slipped but caught herself before she fell. She could hear him curse, but she didn't dare look back. She had probably missed him, but that didn't matter. As long as it delayed his pursuit, it was good enough for her.

Right after she left the room, though, she skidded to a halt. What now? Left? Right? She turned her head in every direction, but there was no way out. Except for the door she'd just come through.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying not to panic. After a few moments, she felt a soft tug.

There.

Naomi kept her eyes closed and stepped forward, letting her feet lead her out of here. She heard quick footsteps following her. He muttered something under his breath. Suddenly, there was a muffled _thump_ behind her, then silence.

_Don't stop._

She didn't know where she was. Or if he was still following her. She needed to make sure she'd really lost him.

But when she opened her eyes, all she saw was darkness.

And then she fell.

* * *

Naomi woke with a start, fighting the urge to scream. Her heart beat pretty fast and beads of sweat covered her whole body. She looked around, not recognising the room she was in.

_Not again._

It was still dark around her, but at least she could make out some outlines. She couldn't hear anything but her own heavy breathing and the blood rushing in her ears.

There were only a few things she knew for certain. She was lying on a bed. Every single bone in her body hurt like Hell. And her head felt like Tatsuya had given it a special treatment with his drum sticks.

Nice.

She closed her eyes. For a while she just lay still and tried to concentrate on breathing regularly. The pain lessened eventually. It didn't disappear, though. But at least it ceased a considerable amount, which was a relief. It was much easier to focus now.

She opened her eyes again. Where was she? How long had she been here?

The lighting conditions hadn't changed. She didn't have a watch, so she couldn't tell what time it was.

She took another look around, more thoroughly this time. As far as she could see, the room was sparsely furnished. A faint ray of light fell through a large window right beside her.

This was most definitely not her bedroom. And not one of her friends' either. So, where the heck was she?

Naomi blinked and propped herself up on her elbows. There was nothing else to see in this room. There were no pictures, flowers or any other personal things. Nothing at all to tell her to whom this room belonged. How could anyone live like this? That was beyond her. This place felt uninhabited, and she found this quite disconcerting.

She could feel a drop trickle down her cheek. Perplexed, she raised her hand and touched it gingerly.

Definitely sweat.

Good.

Wait, not good.

She placed a palm on her forehead. It felt too warm for comfort. A fever? But how could that be? She _never_ got sick!

But then again, she usually didn't wake up in places she'd never seen before, right? At least, not on a regular basis. Just twice. After some heavy drinking the night before.

She'd never forget the day when she woke up in Kôji's apartment, after Kôji, Yûichi and Naomi had shared a few bottles of Gin and Tequila. Only to discover that her friends had dyed her hair pink.

But this was different.

With dawning apprehension, she sat up straight. Surely not...? Oh no, _please_! Don't let it be this sorry excuse for a man! That arrogant, freaky little...

Narrowing her eyes, she really hoped that it wasn't _his_ apartment she was in. She'd never forgive him. And not herself for getting into this predicament in the first place. Oh, if it was him who had brought her here, she was definitely going to _kill_ him!

But maybe that would explain her strange dream, and why he had been in it.

Anyhow, she should make sure if it was really his room, or someone else's. To be perfectly honest – she wasn't certain what she had done or where she'd actually been last before waking up here. The last thing she remembered was that dream.

She sighed heavily. If she wanted to find out where she was, there were only two options. Either she just got up and left the room to take a look at the rest of the apartment, or house; or she stayed here to wait for the original inhabitant to take pity on her by actually showing up.

A loud rumbling noise told her that waiting was completely out of the question. She blushed a little, even though no one but her had heard it. She wasn't surprised that she was hungry, since she couldn't remember when she'd last had something to eat. That was definitely a first.

She wasn't the Queen of Patience anyway (more of the opposite, really). What if no one showed up for hours? Or worse – days? She just couldn't have that. So, she needed to look for some food. Plus, she really craved a long, hot shower.

Naomi swung her feet over the edge of the bed. As soon as they touched the cool, wooden floor she heard someone put a key into a lock nearby and then turn it. A door was opened and then closed again.

_About time you show up_, she thought grumpily. At least, she wouldn't have to wait. Footsteps were to be heard on the other side of the door she threw a bemused glance at.

Now she would find out who had brought her here. She crossed her arms over her chest, finally noticing that she shivered in a rather pathetic manner.

Someone pushed the door open and light spilled into the room. Naomi closed her eyes and lifted a hand to protect them. She blinked a few times. As soon as her eyes had adjusted, she squinted at the door frame and winced.

What she saw was the most bizarre appearance she'd ever seen – at least up close. Though she was glad that it wasn't the person she'd feared it to be, it was rather unsettling to see _this_.

The worst was not the red cape or the leather clothes. Or the boots with the brass covering. Instead of his left hand he had a brass claw. How weird was that? And he had a holster at his right hip, holding a pretty large weapon. But the most unusual were his gleaming red eyes. She'd never seen a person such as this before.

Either someone was celebrating Halloween quite early – or it was a cos playing freak. A shiver went down her spine. She wasn't sure what was worse. Not knowing this person, or him being... Heck, she didn't even know _what_ he was.

For a few moments they both observed each other in silence. The young woman gulped heavily, feeling uncomfortable under his piercing stare. She couldn't bring herself to say something. Or move. A small voice in the back of her mind whispered that she should flee from this otaku guy. But there was nowhere to retreat to anyway, was there?

"How do you feel?" her opponent asked after a while. He had a calm, deep and rather pleasant voice.

Naomi blinked. She didn't know what she had expected. But surely not him asking for her well-being. And certainly not this voice!

"I..." She bit her lower lip. How _did_ she feel, actually? She was freezing like Hell, she was confused beyond imagination, thirsty and hungry; and all her limbs hurt. There were even parts of her body aching which she'd never known to be able to.

However, for a moment she didn't really know how to express all that. This fact confused her even more. Speechless? Her? Had Hell finally frozen over?

Obviously, the stranger didn't expect a reply. Without a word he closed the door and switched the light on, blinding her again. He went to the wardrobe to take some dark trousers as well as a black sweater out, which he handed over to her. Then he turned his back on her and looked out of the window.

Now she finally looked down at herself and actually realised that she merely wore her undergarments and a thick woollen shirt. Anger rose inside her. At herself for being too preoccupied with her surroundings to care about the state she was in. And at him for _daring_ to undress her! What had happened to her own clothes? Surely, they had to be somewhere nearby.

Her cheeks were bright red as she donned the clothes. Then she sat back down on the bed. Not sure if she should thank him or rather punch him for his indecency, she glared at his back, carefully contemplating her next words. A growl escaped her throat.

He turned back to her and examined her for a few seconds. "You're quite lucky," he finally stated.

This caught her completely off-guard. She shot him a questioning look. To wake up in the apartment of an armed stranger – almost undressed, at that – without knowing how she got here... Well, that was definitely _not_ her idea of _being lucky._

"You would be dead, had I not found you." He leaned against the window sill and folded his arms. "You've had a really bad fever for the past four days at least," he continued when she didn't say anything in return and just gave him a dirty look.

Her jaw dropped. "Four days have I been here already?" she squealed. "Damn! Rikuo will _kill_ me!" Immediately she hopped off the bed but regretted it on the spot, since the sudden movement made her feel dizzy. With a moan she let herself fall back onto the mattress and delved her fingers into her hair.

The stranger sat down beside her. "You need to be careful. You still have a fever. Perhaps you should go back to sleep."

"Sleep? Are you nuts? After so long?" she snapped at him. "Damn..." she whispered, rubbing her eyes. "I'm _so_ dead." She tilted her head and watched him intently. "This is a disaster. This could lose me my job!"

"You're ill. Overexerting yourself in your condition won't do you any good," he retorted calmly. "I do not know this Rikuo person, but I am quite certain that he would not want you to risk your life for your work."

"You don't have the faintest idea," Naomi muttered under her breath and ran both her hands through her hair. "They won't mind me being sick. But no one knows anything." She bit her lower lip. "Where am I, anyway?" she asked quietly. "And where's my stuff? At least I should call someone and tell them I'm sick."

For a moment he gave her a blank stare. "You're in Edge. I gave your belongings to an acquaintance of mine. She offered to clean and repair them. She will be back in a few hours to return them to you."

"Damn!" she hissed and rolled her eyes. Why did something like this have to happen to her? "Where is this... Edge, you said?" she wanted to know. "Never even heard of it."

"Edge of Midgar." He raised an eyebrow.

"Edge of what?" she asked sharply and frowned at him.

Now he furrowed his brow. "Midgar. The former capital."

"You've got to be kidding me," she spat at him. "There is no Midgard. It's a myth. Next thing you tell me is that they declared Asgard the new capital and Loki is the king, huh?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Midgar has been the capital for a long time," he said flatly. "I've never heard of Asgard. And we certainly never had a king."

Naomi gave a mirthless laugh. "Yeah. Whatever. Emperor, then." With a snort she crossed her arms and looked away.

"President."

"What?"

"We had a president."

She simply stared at him. Why was she arguing with him anyway? ... wait. _Had?_ "And now?"

"What do you mean?"

She crossed her legs and put her elbows on her knees. "What about the current government?"

"There is none at the moment."

Okay. Now she knew he was completely off his rocker. "Sure," she said sarcastically. "Doesn't matter, though. I just want to go home."

"Where is your home?" he inquired.

She pursed her lips. "Tokyo."

He looked at her. "It's your fever," he muttered. "There is no Tokyo."

"Of course there is! I _live_ there!"

He sighed and stood up. "Feverish hallucinations are not uncommon. Or perhaps it is the effect of some sort of drugs."

Naomi stood up as well, hands curled into fists. "I don't do drugs!" she growled at him. Her anger was back, though she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

"Maybe not voluntarily. You probably don't even know it," he concluded. His voice was still calm but there was a new edge to it. As he was about to leave the room he turned around. "You can use the shower, if you want. It's the second door on the left." With that, he simply left her alone.

Naomi scowled after him. What the fuck was this? How could he give her that crap and then just leave? She still didn't know where she was. And how the _Hell_ she came to be here. This was a nightmare. It simply had to be. There was no other explanation that made any sense. But somehow this felt too real to be a mere dream. Though with her fever she certainly wasn't one to judge.

Rolling her eyes she traipsed to the door. Something was definitely wrong here, though she couldn't tell what it was exactly. How could this be happening? She just wanted to go home. But as long as she couldn't even figure out where she was, and had to wait to get her things back, this proved quite difficult.

She listened at the door but couldn't hear anything. Obviously this strange guy had really left. With a sigh she stepped into the hall to find it brightly lit, but empty. What had he said? Second door on the left? Naomi found the bathroom soon enough. There were even a few towels she could use. Good.

"Damn it," she muttered. "Why can't things be different?"

Stop. Right there. Why was _this_ familiar to her, now? Then she remembered. After that fight over the phone call with Kôji she had said this.

She blinked. Once. Twice.

"Nah," she finally waved it off. This was not possible. How often had she wished that things were different and never had anything happened? Unless she did something about her situation by herself. There was just no way that she'd ended up in a completely alien place just because of a fleeting wish. It was just absurd. If it was true, that would mean she'd never see Kôji or Yûichi – or anyone else, for that matter – again. Ever.

And she shouldn't take this freak seriously, either. Tokyo didn't exist? _Don't make me laugh_, she thought as she undressed and stepped into the shower. _You need to get up earlier to mess with me._ She just knew that she wasn't hallucinating. Just because he seemed to live in his strange fantasy world – whatever that might be – didn't mean that what he had said was true in any sense. As if she'd imagined living in Tokyo.

Honestly.

When she was finished she dried herself off and donned the loaned clothes again. She didn't have much of a choice since it was the only stuff for her to wear at the moment. And she wouldn't risk running around without them. At least the clothes were clean.

As she returned to the room she'd first woken up in she threw herself onto the mattress in a rage and started to hit the pillow repeatedly. "Damn!" she called out. "Fuck!"

She stopped with a jolt. What was she doing here? She surely didn't believe _anything_ that Goth guy said, right? Why did she worry so much about it, then? She should try to sleep, even though she wasn't sure if she could. Hopefully she would wake up in her own bed the next time. Besides… the poor pillow hadn't done anything to her. It wasn't responsible for this mess she was in. She flattened the pillow carefully with her hand. "Sorry about that," she whispered.

Pulling a face she slapped her forehead. Now she was talking to a freaking _pillow_, for Heaven's sake! And apologising for hitting it, at that. How weird could you get? Something was most definitely wrong. If not just with her situation, but clearly with her. Was it the fever? Or the strange dream she'd had before? She didn't know. Maybe the break-up finally got to her? No. Or was she just stressed out? Perhaps. Whatever.

With a frustrated groan she lay down and closed her eyes. She really hoped that everything would be back to normal as soon as she woke up in the morning. With that final thought she actually fell asleep.


	3. You've got to be kidding me

**Chapter 3: You've got to be kidding me!**

Reno was in a rather strange mood when he left his house this morning. First thing was, he woke up too early for his liking. Despite the fact that he barely got any sleep last night. And second... he had the nagging feeling that something wasn't quite the way it was supposed to be. Perhaps the second was based on the first, but he wasn't sure about that.

He went to the first shop that was on his way and ordered some extra strong coffee. Without this, he wasn't likely to make it through the day, he thought. On his way out his gaze fell upon the current newspaper. He bought this as well. Folding it under his arm and fervently sipping his hot drink he made his way to the office.

His boss was on the phone when he entered, talking to someone rather seriously. That was to say, even more serious than usual. If that was even possible. Maybe it was the president he was talking to.

The redhead blinked and sat down at his own desk. With a sigh he put the cup down and started to read the newspaper.

While he still checked the headlines, Tseng finished his phone call. "You're early." His voice sounded surprised. As Reno looked up, he saw that his expression looked it too.

He shrugged carelessly. "Couldn't sleep," he muttered, returning his gaze to the paper.

"The comics section is at the back, brainy," Elena's all too cheery voice piped up beside him as she entered the office.

He quickly glanced up at her, then decided it would be better to simply ignore her. A remark rolled around on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it. Reno just wouldn't let her ruin his mood even more.

"Heard about the explosion in Sector 5?" the blonde Turk asked matter-of-factly as she sat down on the edge of his desk. "Was pretty major. Couldn't have missed it."

What was it with her that she had to annoy him this early in the morning? Before he had even finished his first cup of coffee? He frowned at the newspaper. And then it hit him. What had she said? An explosion? He scanned the paper more carefully now. Then he actually found an article about it. After reading it he could barely refrain from grinning.

"Rufus wants us to investigate this," Tseng told him.

"Really," he replied. His mood improved considerably. Finally! Just as he was about to give up hope that something would happen. He couldn't have asked for a better timing. "Who do you want to go check out that house?" he asked, trying not to sound too eager. But he couldn't fool his boss. Tseng knew better than anyone (with the obvious exception of Rude) how bored Reno had been for the past few months. And that he was itching to do some serious work. Some real work.

Now he finally got his chance.

* * *

When Naomi woke up the next time she felt a little better. Though now she had a major headache. Crap. She snuggled deeper into the blanket, reluctant to even consider opening her eyes just yet. She wanted to enjoy the fact that she didn't have to see where she was, so she could at least try to convince herself that she was at home. Or at a friend's place. Anywhere but the room she remembered falling asleep in.

"Thank Gaia. Her fever finally seems to go down," she heard a female voice she didn't recognise. Naomi groaned inwardly. _Thanks for ruining my pretty illusion, bitch,_ she thought bitterly. A dull feeling of resignation got hold of her. Obviously, her conversation with that Goth guy hadn't been a dream after all. Or was she still dreaming? She didn't know. She had reached a point where she couldn't tell dream from reality anymore.

"Fortunately her life is not on the line now," the deep voice of the dark haired man answered. "Though she seems to be hallucinating. She said something about a city called Tokyo where she thinks she lives."

The woman sighed. "Maybe she is just confused. I would be if I were in her situation." She paused for a moment. "What if she fell into the Lifestream? You know what exposure to Mako can do to people."

"If she did," he said slowly, "then she is in a much better condition than we could hope for."

"You're right. I've never seen someone recover from Mako poisoning this quickly."

"Exactly."

Tears of frustration welled up in Naomi's eyes. But she wouldn't let them flow. She couldn't. As if crying would help any, she thought angrily. And she didn't want to look like a fool in front of _him_. Damn it, she hadn't talked nonsense. What was wrong with that guy? Or her?

"I hope she will recover soon. I'm really curious why she was in that ruin you found her in," the woman mused.

He snorted in reply. "I doubt she would tell me."

"Oh, come on," the woman said in a teasing tone, "I know you can be quite intimidating. But maybe you could at least try not to scare her too much?"

"I did not intend to –"

"I know," she conceded. "Sorry."

A feeble croak escaped Naomi's throat which she couldn't suppress by any means. She was surprised at how poor it sounded. Why did this happen to her? She just didn't get it. Was this her punishment for something she'd done? And if that was the case, for what?

She heard footsteps, just before someone sat down beside her. She opened her eyes, expecting it to be that strange cross between Superman and Batman – there was no other way to describe him, considering his weird clothes. But instead she saw a beautiful young woman who was probably her age, with long dark brown hair and eyes of the same colour. She gave her a worried look. "How do you feel?"

Naomi snorted. Interesting that everyone seemed to ask her that. As if they cared. A bitter smile spread on her face. "Could be worse, I guess. But thanks for asking," she muttered.

The woman put a pink strand out of her face. "Are you hurt?"

She blinked. "I don't think so," she replied. "My head feels like a huge biker gang is throwing one Hell of a party, though." She sat up and crossed her arms.

"No surprise there," the brunette said. "I'm just glad that you're finally awake."

"Why?" Naomi demanded. "Just who are you, anyway?"

"Sorry. I'm Tifa. And this is Vincent." She indicated the dark man.

Raising an eyebrow, she shrugged. "Naomi."

Tifa smiled. "We were really worried about you, you know. For a while it looked like you weren't going to make it with that fever of yours. But obviously you're recovering fairly well."

Worried. Sure. "You don't even know me."

"Do you think that's a reason to simply let you die?" Tifa asked incredulously. She shook her head. "So not gonna happen."

At this moment Vincent turned and left the room without saying anything.

The guitarist frowned. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"I guess he's going to get a pain killer for you. And some food I prepared beforehand. I thought you might be hungry after sleeping for so long," Tifa told her.

"You don't say," Naomi muttered. "But I'd really prefer to go home. As soon as possible." She shrugged. "I _am_ grateful, though, that you took care of me while I was sick. So, thanks."

Tifa smiled at her. "Any time."

"So... is that some kind of hobby of yours?" Naomi asked warily. "To be knights in shining armour and save people who are in trouble? Aside from cos playing?"

Tifa blinked at her. "It's not a hobby. It's a natural thing. Especially for Vincent. And I don't know what you mean by cos playing."

What the heck had she gotten herself into? "Cos. Short for costume. And I don't think I need to explain what playing is, right?"

To her surprise Tifa laughed. "You think Vincent wears a costume?" She was obviously amused by this. "No. That's just the way he is. And his clothes do protect him."

"He always wears this stuff?" Naomi was utterly taken aback. "Protect him from what?"

"Injuries, mostly."

This didn't make much sense to her. But if she was honest... she'd never concerned herself with any details concerning this gaming stuff anyway. She didn't really believe that he wasn't a cos player. What did they play, though? Vampire? Well, as long as he didn't act like he really _was_ one, it wasn't any of her business, right?

"Well," she said slowly. "I still don't know where I am. Or how I can get home."

Tifa gave her a strange look. "Didn't Vincent already talk to you about this?"

Naomi pushed some hair out of her face. "He just gave me some crap about a city I've never heard of and implied that my home doesn't exist." More than implied, actually.

Right then Vincent returned. It was weird to see him carry a food tray. "That's for me?" Naomi asked eagerly, pushing her dismay aside for now in favour of finally getting to eat something. As Tifa nodded she hopped off the bed and traipsed to the table in the corner, almost tripping over the hem of her borrowed trousers. She occupied the chair closest to her.

The brunette followed her and sat down opposite her.

Vincent leaned onto the wall, arms crossed over his chest, watching them silently.

"Damn," Naomi muttered and wanted to get up again, but he only shook his head. She looked down, somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry... are you sure you don't want to sit down yourself?"

"It's all right," he replied calmly.

Since she couldn't read his face because of his attire she shrugged it off, trying not to feel too uncomfortable. There was a small unlabelled pill on the tray, right beside a glass of water. Added to that there was a bowl of... "Soup?" She raised an eyebrow and looked at Tifa.

The brunette frowned at her. "The last time you ate was when? Some time last week? Anything else would most definitely upset your stomach."

In a way, this made sense. Even to her. She decided against telling her that nothing except putrid food – or the lack of any food – could harm her stomach at all. It would have been quite impudent to complain any more now. And she was really grateful for their help, even if she never asked for it.

She took the bowl and tried the soup. It was good! Way better than she'd feared. It didn't take very long for her to drain it completely.

Tifa exchanged a look with Vincent, which she totally ignored. It was way too good to finally have some sort of nourishment again. Even if it was just a bit of flavoured water. She put the bowl down, took the pill without giving it a second thought, and gulped it down with some water.

Tifa gave her a blank look. She obviously wanted to say something, but apparently she changed her mind. She stood up and took the tray away.

"Do you feel better?" Vincent asked quietly.

Naomi stretched contentedly and crossed her arms behind her head. "Actually, yes," she replied. "Nothing like good food to improve my mood." Luckily the sould had been enough to satisfy her for now, despite her misgivings. Now only the pain killer needed to work.

Tifa returned to them. "How did you like it?" she asked the young guitarist as she sat back down.

Naomi nodded and lowered her arms. "It was great, thanks." She cocked her head and looked from Tifa to Vincent and back again. A lot of questions were on her mind but she wasn't sure which to ask first.

Vincent pushed himself off the wall. "I will get your belongings," he declared and left.

Once he was gone Naomi eyed Tifa with interest. "So," she started, "how do you know each other?"

Tifa looked a little bit uncomfortable. "It's a long story."

"I think I might have some time on my hands now," Naomi said wearily. "As long as I'm still sick I'm not likely to go anywhere, am I? And since I can't go home yet..." Her voice trailed off.

Pity flashed in Tifa's eyes. She sighed. Then she started to tell her about _Avalanche_.

After a while Vincent came back with a small stack of clothes which the guitarist instantly recognised as her own. "Just hang on a sec, please," Naomi asked Tifa and took a good look at her stuff. It really was just a pair of jeans, a blue tank top, her socks and shoes, and a light jacket. She could see where they had been torn and sewn back together. When and how had she managed to ruin them?

Luckily, she found her cigarettes in one of her pockets. Upon opening the pack she found it to be almost full – thank God, she wouldn't know where to get more here – and there was her slim lighter inside. Other than that there was just her set of keys and her mobile phone.

Looking up at her host she raised the pack. "May I?" But before he could even reply she turned to the window. There was a balcony which she hadn't noticed before. From what she could tell, she guessed that neither Vincent nor Tifa smoked. So she decided to go outside.

She stood up, opened the French window and stepped out into the fresh air. She felt relieved, less confined. She took a deep breath and then lit a cigarette. After the first drag she felt slightly dizzy, but she didn't care one bit. Of course the nicotine would have this effect on her after being out of commission for this long.

Tifa followed her outside and looked at her, disbelief etched on her face. "Ain't smoking unhealthy?"

Naomi shrugged. "Who cares?" she said nonchalantly. "One day I will have to die anyway." She ran a hand through her hair. "Besides... considering emissions and whatnot, you're probably not even supposed to breathe without getting sick. And I really don't want to know what food can do to my health."

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What's supposed to be unhealthy about food?"

Naomi turned to face her, not able to suppress a sigh. "With all those bacteria, BSE, swine fever... in addition to salmonellae and I don't know what else... it's just as bad as genetic engineering." She took another drag from her cigarette. "If I start to think about all this too much... seriously, that could even spoil _my_ appetite. And _that's_ definitely saying something."

The brunette watched her in confusion. "What in Gaia's name are salmonellae? Or BSE?"

Naomi furrowed her brow. Where the Hell had she ended up? She decidedly didn't ask Tifa why she didn't know what she was talking about. Supposedly, Tokyo didn't exist. She sighed again.

Finally, Vincent joined them. He gave them both a tale-telling look, first Tifa, then Naomi. He refrained from saying anything. It seemed he didn't talk too much in general. It really was a shame. Naomi happened to like his voice, if not anything else about him.

Naomi returned his gaze just as silent and then grumpily turned away from him before taking a last drag from her cigarette which she heedlessly flipped over the rail. No one started to shout, curse or complain. So she hadn't dropped it on anyone, at least. She winced. When had she started to litter? Damn it. Was she that bad off that she didn't care about her environment anymore?

She decided to stay outside. She could hear a few conversations, but barely any vehicles. A quick look around told her that this seemed to be a rather small town. Strange. It definitely didn't look anything like Tokyo. Crap. She propped her elbows on the railing as Tifa stepped up beside her.

"So..." she said lazily as she watched the people walking the street. She was surprised that she really couldn't see many cars. "Where were we?"

"Midgar."

"Right." Naomi shot her a thoughtful look. "You had this bar, with this rebel group and just found your childhood friend."

Tifa nodded. "Well, I'll try to make this short or I won't finish until next week," she said. Then she told Naomi about how she persuaded Cloud to help them. How they'd met Aerith. About Sephiroth trying to destroy the planet. How they had followed him across the planet. After about an hour she reached the point where they had arrived at Nibelheim.

Naomi blinked. She pinched her arm and winced.

"What are you doing that for?" Tifa wanted to know.

"I just had to make sure I'm not dreaming."

"Why?"

"Because," Naomi said darkly, "this sounds too much like a myth, you know? I read a lot about all the old legends. Like Midgard and Niflheim and stuff."

Tifa stared at her. "Nibelheim," she said. "And Midgar. Without a D at the end."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you," Naomi shot back irritably. "But don't you think this is a bit strange?"

"What did they say about those in your legends?" Tifa wanted to know.

"Well," Naomi sighed. "In Norse mythology Midgard is the place where regular humans live. Different from Asgard, home of the Gods, like Loki, Odin or Thor." She shook her head. "And Niflheim is somewhere in the far north, covered in ice. I'm not too sure about that, though. I didn't memorise the whole Edda, mind you."

"Odin?"

The guitarist cocked her head. "You have an Odin as well?" This was getting weirder by the minute. "But you know what? You can tell me about that later. What happened in Nifl... sorry, Nibelheim?"

Tifa eyed her curiously. "Well... Nibelheim is Cloud's and my original home. We were born and raised there." She took a deep breath. "It shouldn't have been there, though, since it had been burned down years before we returned. Anyway. It was there that we found Vincent. In the Shinra mansion."

Naomi bit her lip. "So you worked for this Shinra company?" she asked Vincent.

"I used to."

She really didn't know what to make of all this. These people didn't give her the impression of being crazy. In fact, at least Tifa seemed to be perfectly nice, and sane. But she knew how far first impressions went. So she tried to ignore her growing unease and pretended to play along. "And what were you doing in that mansion?" she wanted to know. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

He considered her with a long and silent look until she squirmed uncomfortably, wishing she'd never asked him in the first place. "Sleeping," he finally replied.

Her jaw dropped. "And it took you that long just to say _this_?" she asked him incredulously. Shifting her gaze to Tifa she gave her a questioning look. "Seriously? _Sleeping_?"

The brunette gave a curt nod. Naomi tried to digest this piece of information. "Humph." She jerked around. That sound had actually come from Vincent.

"Seriously. I have been sleeping for thirty years, trapped in nightmares," he exclaimed before he turned and went inside.

Now Naomi had to grab the railing for support. He couldn't be really serious about that, right? From what she could see of his face until now she would have thought him to be in his mid-twenties or something like that. Definitely not much older. But should she really believe what he'd said? Did he really think he was some kind of vampire?

"It's true," Tifa said after a moment. As Naomi looked at her she made an indefinite gesture. "When we were in Nibelheim... we didn't just meet him in the Shinra mansion." She pushed a stray strand out of her face. "He was in the basement. We found him in a..." She shrugged, and then went on, "a coffin."

Okay. That was it. She was not going to take any more of this crap. "In a coffin." There was no way to miss her sarcasm. "How come I'm not surprised that he was actually sleeping in a freaking _coffin_?" She threw her hands into the air. "What comes next? That he's a vampire? Or a zombie?" Naomi shook her head. "Do you know how _sick_ this is?"

"Don't look at me," Tifa retorted. "I didn't put him into the coffin. We actually got him out." She took a deep breath. "When we told him what we were up to he returned to the coffin at first, saying that we had added even more sins for him to atone for." Her expression grew a little sad. "But when we left he followed us, asking if he'd meet a man named Hojo if he accompanied us. Cloud said it was likely, so he joined us in the end."

Naomi shuddered. "Now, _that's_ what I call creepy." Sleeping in a coffin. Honestly! It wasn't too hard to imagine him doing so, though. "Wait a sec," she muttered. "Why did he have to sleep in this thing anyway? And why that long?"

Tifa sighed. "It's better if you ask him. I don't know much about it. Just that it had something to do with Hojo and his experiments. That guy actually experimented on people. Like Sephiroth. And even on himself. Obviously, on Vincent as well." She narrowed her eyes as if she were trying to remember something. "Well... there was also something about Sephiroth's mother, a woman called Lucrecia. Vincent mentioned her when we first found him, saying he'd failed her and that this was his greatest sin."

"Oh." So a chick was involved. This was getting even better. Naomi grimaced. Damn, she had met a few freaks before, but Vincent definitely had the prize. She shook her head. "If this Lucrecia chick was Sephiroth's Mum... who was his Dad? And why had they let him turn evil?" she whispered, not really sure if she wanted to hear the answer. All this stuff sounded too much like it was the story for a weird game.

"His father was Hojo. He was a mad scientist, as you can guess. Worse than mad, even. He actually enjoyed his son going on a rampage and even encouraged him," Tifa said listlessly.

"What..." Naomi gaped at her.

Tifa nodded. "He ruined a lot of lives..." She looked at Naomi. "You could even say that he was the most evil out of all of them."

Naomi didn't know what to say to that. With a sigh she went inside, closely followed by Tifa. She needed to talk to Vincent. Perhaps, if she tried hard enough, he would finally give in and admit that this was all a sick joke. She couldn't think of any other explanation for all of this. She still had like a thousand questions on her mind but was reluctant to ask any. She feared that they would tell her even more of this fantasy crap. It was better not to believe anything they had told her so far. Now, wasn't it?

* * *

When he entered the empty apartment he suppressed a sigh. He should have known. Why had he left her alone anyway? He really should have expected that something like this would happen as soon as he turned his back on her.

But of course, there had been nothing he could have done to prevent this, right? At least not after he had been so selfish. What had he thought he could accomplish, trying to keep her to himself? Did it matter that he had tried to protect her? No. The result was the same. She was gone.

Now he knew he had tried things the wrong way. It didn't help, though, because it was too late. He should have considered her thoughts on this matter from the very beginning. Maybe he should even have told her the truth.

There was no need to look through the apartment. He knew he wouldn't find anything here. And he knew why.

He rubbed his face and groaned. Asking himself why wouldn't accomplish anything. He needed to act. Since he couldn't undo what had already happened... Well, at least he knew _where_ she was. So he could try to get someone else to get her back. Even if he himself wasn't able to do that without giving himself away.

This would take a lot of careful planning. But he didn't have a choice.


	4. This is just my luck

**Chapter 4: This is just my luck**

Muttering under his breath Reno entered the office, again with a cup of coffee-to-go in his hand. They had found the blown up house, all right. Though one other, which had simply caved in, from the looks of it, had been way more interesting. They had found lots of stuff inside that one, whereas the first one had been empty.

Curious things they had discovered. That definitely piqued his interest. What he didn't like about all this was that they didn't know to whom the stuff belonged. Or who had destroyed both buildings.

He could come up with a lot of theories about that. But he wanted facts.

Judging by the clothes they had found in that second house, those things seemed to belong to a woman. And Reno had been lucky enough to find a woman's purse (of course, he'd simply taken it with him to examine it at his leisure – if it concerned a chick he wanted to check it out first). She had to be rich to own so many things.

He had taken the purse home and looked through the contents. There had been a wallet inside. And some documents. One read 'passport'. Who needed to port a pass anyway? Or pass a port? Or what was that for? Filing through it he'd found out that it belonged to a girl named Naomi Crescent. There was even a picture inside. She was quite cute even though she had rather short hair for his liking. As he'd read her date of birth, that had been where the confusion had really settled in. It was written in a very unusual way. Anyway, he'd never seen documents like those before.

What frustrated him the most, though, was that he couldn't find anything official on her. He thought that was even more interesting than anything else. If she was a resident somewhere, she _had_ to be registered. Especially since she didn't seem to be some poor sod.

But no such luck. Why wasn't there anything to be found? And why did her documents say such strange things? Like being allowed to live in Tokyo and attend the local university? Where the fuck was that supposed to be? He'd never even heard of it.

He knew he was supposed to file the purse and its contents along with everything else they'd found in that house. But somehow he didn't feel motivated to do so. It wouldn't help in their investigation anyway, right? So he thought it would be okay to keep it. Until he found that girl. Then he could ask her about the documents himself. And about that strange paper stuff in her wallet. It looked like it was supposed to be money. But he couldn't be sure, could he? And what about those plastic cards? All of those things didn't exist. Not here, anyway. As a Turk, he should know that.

Rubbing his face he propped his elbows on the desk. His computer really didn't help him this time. Maybe he should resort to some good old-fashioned threatening to get some information. He really hated that he couldn't make heads or tail out of what he already had here. If the thought weren't so ridiculous, he'd think she'd just popped out of nowhere.

This made him sit up straight. Maybe she was a remnant? Like this gang around Kadaj a while back. But that wouldn't explain the purse. And honestly, how old a remnant could she be, then?

What if it was a fake identity? For all he knew just about anything was possible. But a remnant wouldn't bother with a fake identity. And most definitely not with such detailed evidence, especially if it was fake.

So he was back to square one.

With a sigh he ran a hand through his fiery red hair, long slender fingers parting unruly strands and making them look even more dishevelled.

This was not going as smoothly as he'd hoped. But to be honest – where was the fun if things were too easy anyway? His spirit rose slightly as he sipped his coffee, then he patted some invisible dust off his jacket and turned to his computer.

First he'd check out all the files he could find. If he tried to look for her family name, maybe that would help? And he was rather interested in the list of things they'd found in the house they'd raided just yesterday. After this he would go to the store room where all the stuff was being kept. Maybe this would help him find at least _some_ answers. It was too early to give up yet.

About an hour later he was even more frustrated. The list itself didn't help matters at all. Mostly it contained clothes. Lots of them. More than any person alone could wear in their lifetime. And books he'd never heard of. Other than that there were more 'purpose unknown's and 'unidentified's than he felt motivated to count. So this left him only the option of checking out the items personally. His mind was set. With a curt nod to himself he stood up. The search for her family name wasn't finished anyway.

Rude, who was the only one taking residence in the office right now other than Reno, had observed the redhead's behaviour for a while. He actually had his own share of work to attend to. But his comrade's fidgeting and cursing had been way too distracting to concentrate. He knew the other man long enough to see that the lanky Turk had found himself an obstacle he'd silently – or not so silently, really – sworn to overcome at any cost.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

"Huh?" The redhead turned to him, a puzzled expression on his face. "Oh. Store room."

"Is there any point in asking you why?"

"Nope." Reno turned to the door. "Not yet."

Rude nodded. He knew that as soon as his partner had the answers he was seeking he'd let him in on the secret. So he didn't pursue the subject any further. For now.

* * *

Naomi was annoyed beyond belief. She had tried to ask Vincent about this vamp-in-a-coffin matter for a few times during the past three days. She thought if she'd try to talk to a solid rock it would be way more responsive. Duh. If he simply didn't want to talk about it he could just _say_ so. But giving no response at all and ignoring her most of the time was the worst. Really.

It didn't matter anymore if she believed anything he would tell her. She was past the point to care about that. She was curious like Hell. The fact that he refused to talk to her made her want to know even more.

Vincent was that typical image of the tall, dark and handsome guy most girls would swoon over, with a good shot of enigma around him. Someone she wouldn't have talked to if she'd just met him on the street.

She had to admit, that he really _was_ rather good looking. And his long raven hair didn't even make him look girlish, just like most of the other long haired guys she'd met. But there was definitely something creepy about him. Maybe it was that vampire image she associated with him now.

The only thing Naomi really liked about him was his voice. It was a pity that he seemed to avoid her. And if she saw him he rarely said anything. Damn it. She would do almost anything to listen to his voice again. At least, that was about the only thing about him that didn't freak her out.

Maybe she should try a different approach? Act like she believed him? Would he talk to her then?

By the way – where was he? She hadn't seen him all day. In fact, only Tifa had been there earlier to offer breakfast. The brunette was the only one who talked to her (though this didn't say much since she only knew those two anyway). If someone asked her, she'd have to admit that she even started to like her. Despite anything Tifa seemed to be really nice and approachable. Just unlike that vampire.

Since they still insisted that Tokyo didn't exist, she had temporarily accepted defeat. So for now there were other matters she had to take care of. Like trying to call her friends, for example. She should have done that way earlier. After her first conversation with Tifa, she had completely forgotten about it. Shame on her. The thought of Vincent sleeping in a coffin had consumed her attention ever since.

What the heck was wrong with her?

As long as Vincent was absent, she couldn't leave the apartment anyway. She didn't know her way around here. And even if she _did_ manage to find her way somehow, she didn't have any keys. So she wouldn't be able to get back inside without him being here to let her in.

Being confined – even if not really locked up – could drive anyone insane after a while. That was one of the reasons why she hated hospitals. And if you didn't even have money because your fucking purse and wallet were lost, that didn't make things any easier.

Crap. It was really just her luck that this kind of thing had to happen to her. What had she even done to deserve this?

Cursing under her breath she flopped down on the floor and took her mobile phone out to finally call Yûichi and try to explain why she'd been gone for at least a week without telling anyone what she was up to.

* * *

Swearing loudly Naomi threw her mobile phone onto the small table – hard enough for the display to crack. This fact wormed even more imprecations out of her. For almost four hours she had been trying to call someone. Four long hours she'd spent on dialling every phone number she could think of – Yûichi's, Kôji's, Luca's, the studio's, even Markus'. What she heard was always the same: nothing.

"Now, this kind of slanguage is not supposed to come from a young lady," a deep voice said dryly behind her.

Wincing, she turned around. "Vincent!" she exclaimed. Where the fuck had he been the whole time? "Do you have to sneak up on me? You almost scared me to death!"

He stepped up to her; despite his heavy boots he barely made any sound. "I don't sneak," was the short reply.

She raised an eyebrow at that but refrained from responding. She didn't want to start another fight with him. That wouldn't make him tell her anything, that much she knew now. And she didn't want to make herself look like a complete idiot anymore.

"Who taught you all those swear words?" he wanted to know as he sat down at the table. His voice sounded flat and unconcerned, just as always. But Naomi thought this was a huge improvement on the whole. She guessed he would never bother to ask if he really didn't give a damn. Polite as he may be, but if she'd learned anything about him then it was that he never wasted any words. Or anything else. His gaze was fixed on her face. It made her feel rather uncomfortable to be stared at like this.

She shrugged. "Some I've picked up at school, others from my friends..." she finally answered with a vague gesture. "Where I come from, it's kinda hard to avoid them, really."

He continued to watch her for a few moments but didn't pursue the matter.

With a sigh Naomi ran both hands through her hair. Then she bobbed her head up, her neck giving off an unpleasant grinding noise. She grimaced at that. "Can I borrow your phone for a moment?"

Another few seconds passed while he considered her, motionless. "Why?" he wanted to know before he got his phone out of the depths of his leather clothes. He handed her the phone.

She took it and grabbed her own mobile phone at the same time. "Because mine seems to be broken," she retorted absent mindedly while she looked up a certain number which she typed into Vincent's phone. It was a quite stylish black one with a nice design and a chain. It looked kinda gothy, so it suited him. She almost rolled her eyes as she compared it to her own lime green one. Then she put it to her ear and listened.

"The number you've dialled is not existent."

Naomi screwed her face up in annoyance as she heard the excessive female voice. She tried a different number and then a third one, but every time it was the same. Grumbling a few choice words she closed the connection and returned the phone to Vincent. "Thanks," she muttered.

"Considering your choice of words I would rather think you are a construction worker," Vincent said. Upon seeing her surprised look he shrugged. "You were trying to call your friends?"

"No, I wanted to talk to Santa Claus," she grumbled. Then she sighed. He probably didn't even know who Santa Claus was, right? "Of course I tried to call my friends. They still don't know about me being sick. But I cannot get through to anyone," she added in frustration. "My phone doesn't work at all and yours says that all those numbers are non-existent." She crossed her arms. "And would you _please_ not stare at me like that? It gives me the creeps."

Finally, he averted his eyes. "My apologies," he said quietly.

Her throat constricted. Crap. "It's okay," she gave in and rubbed her face. "I'm just not used to be scrutinised like that. I guess it's rather me who should apologise."

"Why?"

"Well..." She shrugged uncomfortably. "For snapping at you... and annoying you with all those questions, you know?" She shook her head. "Don't think I'm not grateful for your help. It's just that I usually don't need any and now..."

Now his eyes were on her again, and she unconsciously hugged herself. "I understand."

"Really?" There was a note of relief in her voice.

He nodded. "I assume that this situation is far from easy for you. So you have nothing to apologise for."

Naomi ran a hand through her hair as she heaved a deep sigh. "That's no excuse for being rude, though. So... I really am sorry."

He nodded again.

"I guess there are a few things we should get straight, then," she said. She crossed her legs. "First, since I'm stuck here, I'm going to need a job. At least for a while until I find a way back home. I really don't want you to pay for my expenses any more than absolutely necessary. And of course, I will pay you back for all that."

Vincent watched her intently. "You do not need to concern yourself with that."

"You might think so. But I prefer to pay my debts," she replied. "Anyway, I should get my own room, so I don't have to take up your space." _And your presence kinda freaks me out_, she thought but would rather swallow her tongue than tell him that. He didn't even freak her out in a bad way. That was the creepiest thing about this.

"You're not a bother," he told her quietly.

She shot him a pained look. "I just thought you would prefer to be on your own. You don't seem to set high value on company."

"Like I said, you are not a bother to me. I'm just not... used to company."

She arched her eyebrows in surprise. Tifa had already told her that. Even if she hadn't, she would have been able to guess as much from his behaviour. She just wouldn't have thought that he would ever admit this.

"Anything else?" he wanted to know.

"Well..." she said distractedly. What on Earth had happened that he was suddenly talking to her? Willingly, at that? "I would like to see where you found me. I want to check if any of my other things might be there. I'm not sure if you have looked for something else already."

"I haven't." He shifted into a more comfortable position. "I did not concern myself with trivial matters. I was more intent on saving your life."

"Why, though?" The words just slipped out of her mouth. "Why was that so important to you?"

"Would you have preferred I had let you die?"

"Of course not!" she shot back. "But I can't help but wonder why you had to save me of all people, especially since you didn't even know me."

Vincent gave her a scrutinising look. "Had I not helped you, even though I could have, I would not be able to live with that knowledge."

Holy Hades. Hell must surely have frozen over. Or something similar. He hadn't talked to her this much before. Maybe it had been a good idea not to pester him for information. She should remember that the next time she wanted to know something.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then he nodded at her. "Follow me."

She immediately hopped off the chair and went to the door, slipping into her shoes. Naomi was rather thrilled to finally get outside. Spending a whole week inside and apartment had strained her nerves to no end, even though she'd been unconscious most of the time.

Looking around on their way she was quite taken aback to see that just about everything seemed to be made of scrap material. Which it probably was. Of course, she had been on the balcony. But from that position it had not been obvious that this seemed to be not only a small but also rather poor town.

There were barely any cars to be seen. No trains, buses or any other means of public transport. She didn't even see a bicycle anywhere. Also, traffic lights or signs were practically non-existent. Strange. Back home, only the smallest villages with about twenty buildings or so could afford this lack of organisation.

She also didn't fail to notice that everyone wore rather simple clothes; some had their limbs wrapped in bandages. One or two had even their head or an eye patched up. But she couldn't hear anyone complaining.

When they stopped she looked up. _7th Heaven_ was written on a sign above the door. She tilted her head in confusion. She'd definitely heard that name before. "What are we doing here?" she asked Vincent. "I thought you found me in a ruin?" This really didn't look like one.

"I did," he replied calmly. "But if you really want to work, Tifa is in a better position to offer assistance than I am. Apart from that, I assumed that you might want to eat something first. I do not have suitable food for you at my apartment. So I thought going here first was reasonable."

Naomi snorted at that. "Suitable? Do you even have _any_ food at your place?" She couldn't remember seeing anything edible, aside from the food Tifa always brought with her. With a shrug she opened the door and entered.

She looked around in interest and was reminded of the café she had worked at before she'd moved to Tokyo. Just attending university back then and living on her own had made that necessary, even though her parents had of course supported her by paying her rent. Anything else, she had to work for. And it had been fun.

Here, there were rough wooden tables instead of plastic ones and it had a rather vintage feeling about it. But it was not so much the interior that let her think about home. She immediately liked it here.

She let her gaze wander about and it fell onto a young man who stood by the counter and turned around to face them. For a short moment she felt like her heart was skipping a beat. But as she looked more closely at his face, and particularly his stunning blue eyes, she registered that it wasn't her ex-boyfriend – couldn't be him – and she relaxed. She couldn't see Tifa anywhere around.

"Are you all right?" Vincent asked quietly.

Obviously he had noticed her tension. Was there anything he _didn't_ notice? She took a deep breath and nodded. _Calm down_, she thought. _That jerk is not here._ It would have been more than unnerving to her to find him here of all places. She was just getting used to the fact that she was in this strange place, so far away from home. She felt a lump in her throat and gulped heavily.

As they approached the counter, she kept the blonde in her line of sight. Looking closely, he didn't bear any resemblance to her ex. Thank God.

"Hey Vincent," the blonde greeted. "Long time no see. How are you doing?"

The dark haired guy nodded. "How's business?"

"Great. I took a few days off to help Tifa. And to look after the children." He watched Naomi curiously, who felt out of place. Well, she _was_, she reminded herself.

"Where is Tifa?" Vincent wanted to know.

"In the kitchen. Shall I get her?" the blonde retorted.

Naomi regarded Vincent with an irritated look. Unbelievable! She'd thought he was polite? She offered the blonde her hand. "Hi. I'm Naomi Crescent," she introduced herself more cheerfully than she actually felt. Since Vincent didn't have the decency to introduce them. She could guess who this guy was, though. Tifa had told her so many stories, especially about him, that it was hard to mistake him for anyone else. Though she wasn't sure how much Tifa had told him.

A heavy silence seemed to fill the room after her declaration. Vincent looked at her like she'd just popped out of nowhere and the blonde blinked. But then he smiled slightly as he shook her hand. "Sorry," he said. "Cloud Strife."

_Bingo_.

Red eyes were still fixed on her face after a long moment. "What?" Naomi demanded, suddenly very much on edge with his strange behaviour. "Do I have something on my face?" She didn't like it when he stared at her like that, like he tried to figure out if she might grow a second head or something. She wasn't some kind of alien, for Heaven's sake!

This pulled him out of his reverie. "What did you just say?" he asked in a barely audible voice.

"Huh?" Now she was confused. "What are you talking about? Did I just switch to some foreign language without noticing? I wanted to know if there was something wrong with my face since you're giving me your creepy stare _again_!"

"No." There was a sharp intake of breath. "Your name."

Cloud looked from Vincent to Naomi and back. He didn't get what the fuss was about. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to know or not. Obviously some major issues there.

"What the fuck is wrong with my name, now?" she grumbled. "You didn't have a problem with that before."

"I didn't know your family name was '_Crescent_'." He gave her a blank look. "I only knew about your given name, '_Naomi_'."

"So what?" She just didn't get his problem. "You never asked me for my family name. I thought you didn't fucking care anyway."

"Okay guys," Cloud put in. "I'm going to get Tifa for you." With that he turned around and headed for the kitchen. It seemed better not to take any part in this.

Just when the door closed behind him, Vincent straightened. "This changes things," he said impassively. "There is something I need to take care of. I will return as soon as I can. Stay with Tifa in the meantime." A few seconds later he was already out the door and Naomi gaped after him, blinking in confusion.

Just what the _fuck_ was wrong with that guy? And there was her thinking they finally got along, sort of. But now she wasn't sure about that anymore. Why did he have to be so... creepy? As far as she was concerned at the moment he could drop dead and she wouldn't care. At least not much.

She heard the door through which Cloud had left open again, but it didn't register with her at first. Her gaze was still fixed on the entrance. Her heart rate kicked up and her skin prickled. Though she couldn't figure out why.

"Hi Naomi," Tifa spoke up behind her and she jerked in surprise.

"Hey Tifa," she replied as she faced the brunette. She was glad that there was at least one sensible person here. More or less. Naomi had definitely taken a liking to her.

Cloud had returned as well. "Vincent left already?" he asked, though he didn't sound really surprised. Obviously, they were all used to his weird antics.

Immediately Naomi's face turned sour. "Yup," she said. "He'll come back, though."

"Did something happen?" Tifa wanted to know. She was aware of the fact that Naomi had a rather hard time getting along with the gunslinger. Though she couldn't really say what he thought of her. Well, he couldn't exactly hate her or he would have kicked her out of his apartment already, good Samaritan or not.

"Like Hell I know," Naomi grumbled. "I just introduced myself to Cloud. But it seems that there is something wrong with my name, since he suddenly went all '_oh my God... blah blah blah, yada yada yada'._ Whatever got into him is not my business, though." She crossed her arms and grimaced. "Creep," she finally muttered under her breath.

Cloud gave Tifa a peculiar look. "I didn't get it either," he confessed. "Though it rather surprised me that Vincent would ever bother to fight with someone over something. Don't take it personally, but usually he simply ignores people."

"Believe me, I know." Naomi didn't sound happy about that.

Tifa blinked. She didn't know the reason behind Vincent's reaction any more than the other two did. But at least she had a pretty good idea who she could ask to find out.


	5. Now this is awkward

**Chapter 5: Now, this is awkward**

Vincent's mind was reeling. This couldn't be just a coincidence. She may never have indicated that she knew Lucrecia but he thought it quite strange that they incidentally shared the same family name. It was not a common one. Of course he could have just asked Naomi if they were probably related. But he had been too shocked upon hearing the name to think straight.

He wondered how it could be possible that there was any connection between Naomi and Lucrecia. Had this been another experiment by Hojo? Or perhaps by someone else? He only knew that Lucrecia had had a son. But he didn't know anything about the rest of her family, if you didn't count Hojo, the bastard who had dared call himself her husband.

Vincent sneered at the memory.

He almost considered going to Nibelheim. But that was certainly a bad idea. There was no point. The last time he'd been there he had taken all the documents he could find with him. So the only way to probably find out what he wanted to know – needed to know – was to look somewhere else. But where? His best option was to ask Reeve for assistance. He still owed him.

Additionally, simply heading off now was not possible. He had promised Naomi to show her where he had found her. He had said he would be back soon. Though he seriously doubted that she would welcome his return.

What was it about her that intrigued him anyway? He had to admit she seemed to be a nice person. As long as she kept her temper under control. But that was not the reason. It was not even her looks. He had met his share of beautiful women in his life, and he had dismissed all of them. And he knew that it couldn't have anything to do with Lucrecia. They didn't look even remotely alike.

So, what could it be?

He grabbed at his chest – where the Protomateria was located – in discomfort as he made his decision.

* * *

Reno was just about to give up on his search for this mysterious chick. He almost considered that someone might even play a practical joke on them. Perhaps he should finally ask Tseng if he knew something about her. But he hadn't reached that point yet. There might still be ways to get his answers. Ways he hadn't tried yet.

The redhead sat up straight and slapped his forehead.

Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that before? He could ask one of those _Avalanche_ people if they had come across something strange. Tifa was probably his best shot. With her owning a bar there could be a chance that she'd heard something. And at least she was friendly enough, which he couldn't really say about her so-called ex-Soldier companion. Or the rest of that bunch.

Just as he made up his mind to pay Tifa's _7th Heaven_ a visit, Tseng entered the office.

"Found anything?" he asked without real interest in his voice. He didn't expect them to have any foolproof results yet. And he didn't want to get his hopes up. Rufus had told him to do everything in their power to find out what all this was about; he had a bad feeling about this whole business. So, who was Tseng to refuse?

Rude shook his head and Reno groaned in irritation. "Not really..." he sighed. "I'll go and check if I can find something in Edge."

"Edge?" both his boss and his partner asked. "Why there?"

"Why not?" Reno barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Seems we hit a dead end in Midgar. I'm not sure if there even is anything to be found at all. But we won't know without looking, right?"

Tseng nodded, obviously deep in thought. "Fine. You go to Edge and try to find out whatever you can. Elena will accompany me to Junon. Rude, you will protect the President while we're gone."

With that said, all of them left the office to take care of their respective assignments. Just before they parted ways Tseng spoke up again. "And remember... if you find anyone involved in this business – take them here. Rufus wants to see them."

Reno saluted and turned to leave.

"Unharmed, if possible," his boss added.

A dismissive wave with a gloved hand was the only sign that his order had registered.

* * *

"Okay... let me get this straight," Cloud said. "You're from a city called Tokyo. Vincent found you in some kind of ruin. But no one knows how you got here," he summarised what Tifa and Naomi had told him.

"That's correct," Naomi nodded. "Heck, I don't even know what this place really _is_!"

"Well..." the ex-Soldier said slowly. "To be honest, I've never heard of your city."

"Gee... as if I couldn't guess already." Naomi glared at him.

Cloud considered her for a moment. "There could be a lot of explanations... Maybe you have been experimented on. Or you fell into the Lifestream. Anything you might have experienced in there would of course be as real to you as our conversation now."

"What is this Lifestream thing anyway?" Naomi demanded. "I heard that before."

Tifa heaved a deep sigh before she explained about the way things worked with life forms being born from the planet and returning to it after dying. And what the Lifestream was and supposedly did.

Naomi blinked at her. "You're trying to say that the so-called Gaia Theory is real?"

"You heard about this?" Tifa asked incredulously.

The guitarist shrugged. "Like I said, it's just a theory."

Cloud and Tifa exchanged a look. "This is interesting," he muttered. "You really are sure that your memories are genuine?" he wanted to know and raised his hands in defence when she narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't want to say that you made this up," he tried to placate her. "But you have to admit that all of this sounds rather weird."

"You don't say," Naomi muttered under her breath. "I don't think that I just imagined living in Tokyo, you know? I have _friends_ there."

"No one said you were imagining things," Tifa tried to calm her down.

"Vincent did."

"What?" This seemed to surprise the brunette.

Naomi crossed her arms. "He said I was hallucinating. That's pretty much the same, actually."

"I see," Cloud said. "Well, without knowing any details we there's no way to tell what really happened, though."

Naomi heaved a deep sigh. "You're right, I guess. Sorry." She grimaced. "It's just... frustrating, you know? I still have my mobile with all the phone numbers of my friends. But I can't call anyone."

Cloud ran a hand through his hair. "Can I see it?"

Naomi shook her head. "I don't have it with me. It doesn't work here anyway."

"Well," Tifa spoke up. "We should ask Reeve. Maybe he can help," she suggested. "Or –"

Cloud shook his head vehemently. "I'm not asking Rufus for help. Reeve is fine, but not the Turks... or anyone else from Shinra." He sighed. "Okay. I'll visit Reeve and talk to him," he finally said, and then he turned to leave. "I'll call and let you know as soon as I find something."

Tifa nodded. "Be careful."

"Always am." With a wave of his hand he left the bar.

Naomi blinked at Tifa. "He doesn't like those Shinra people much, huh?"

Tifa rubbed her temples. "He rather detests their old ways," she replied. "But he doesn't like to admit that they might have changed."

"Changed in which way, exactly?"

"It's hard to explain... I told you that they used the planet's energy to make people's lives comfortable, right?"

Naomi nodded. "Aside from being responsible for wars and stuff."

"Well," Tifa sighed. "Rufus seems to have had a change of heart when Meteor came down. He works to help people, even if they don't want to see or admit it. Shinra is still being distrusted and disliked in general, especially the Turks. But they're still trying to do everything they can to make up for their past mistakes."

"Sounds fine by me."

"I know... but not for people who grew up oppressed by Shinra. Even I had a hard time to accept it," Tifa admitted. "Cloud still can't, I guess." A rumbling noise made the barmaid look up and Naomi blushed. Tifa couldn't suppress a laugh. "If you do me a favour and look after the shop for a while I'll make some dinner, okay?"

Naomi nodded sheepishly.

"Just let me know if there are any customers, so I can take care of them."

"Ah, I think I might be able to handle them for a few minutes."

Tifa stopped short at the door. "If that's not too much to ask."

"Are you kidding?" Naomi asked incredulously. "At least it's a way to pay you back for your help."

"If you want to you can help me in the kitchen as well," Tifa suggested.

Naomi laughed at that. "Sure thing, if you want your kitchen in ruins," she said with a grin. "I'm a _horrible_ cook and even almost burned down my Mum's kitchen once. People who know me usually won't even let me _enter_ their kitchen."

Tifa blinked. "Okay. I guess I will keep you out of there then."

"If you want to keep it the way it is now, you probably should." Naomi shrugged. "Though only my entering won't do any harm. It's me touching anything that does."

"I won't take long," Tifa promised and then left.

"Okay!" Naomi replied with a mock salute. As soon as the door closed behind the brunette she let out an inaudible sigh. Now she was on her own. That left her too much room to think. This was not necessarily a good thing since she had started to question her own sanity instead of the others'. Heck, she wouldn't even mind if Vincent came back now, though he was not really her first choice for company. He was too quiet. Too lonesome. Though if he really was the way he was because of some chick... Naomi shuddered and felt a rush of pity for him. Who knew, maybe he hadn't always been like that.

Pushing her thoughts aside, she stepped around the bar and examined the interior. She frowned as she found some cobwebs near the entrance. The place looked completely clean otherwise. Maybe it was a good idea to keep herself busy so she wouldn't think too much. She went to the counter and after some rummaging she found what she'd looked for – a feather duster. Raising it in triumph she went back to the entrance just to find out that she couldn't reach the cobwebs. She arched her eyebrows and without further ado she grabbed a chair and climbed it.

While she took care of this – with one foot on the backrest and no additional means to steady herself as she still had to stretch to reach the ceiling, which was probably not the best idea, but she just couldn't help being short – the door opened and someone entered. Groaning inwardly at this timing she didn't dare turn away from her task but was curious enough to risk one quick glance. It could have been Vincent or Cloud for all she knew. Or a customer. She wasn't prepared, however, for the sight of a mass of unruly red hair. For a second she was too stunned to react. What was _he_ doing here of all places?

But it didn't take her long to get over her initial shock. She noticed the newcomer looking up at her with a huge grin on his face and an overwhelming feeling of excitement surged through her. At least one of her friends was here! So she wasn't losing her mind after all. She just couldn't believe it.

With a clatter the feather duster fell onto the floor and she turned on her chair. She completely forgot about her almost non-existent footing and the chair toppled over as she half fell, half jumped at him with a loud cry of joy. "Kôji!" she called out right before she hugged him, flinging her arms wildly around his neck.

He hadn't anticipated this kind of greeting and so he lost his balance along with her and they both crashed to the floor. Not knowing how to react to her tight hug he decided to let her get away with it. What he had seen from his position before had been quite nice to look at. And he wasn't used to being hugged like this by a cute chick, anyway. Something soft and pink obscured his vision and a faint scent of vanilla and cinnamon reached his nose. If the crash hadn't been kind of uncomfortable he could really enjoy this.

"I missed you," Naomi muttered beside his ear. "Where the fuck have you been, you bastard?"

Reno blinked in confusion. Bastard? It was obvious that she'd mistaken him for someone else by her way of greeting him. But he couldn't remember ever meeting her before. So being called a bastard was taking it a bit far. "Um..." he said tentatively but didn't let go. This actually felt nice. "Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not your boyfriend." He felt her wince at that.

For a moment she wasn't able to move. This definitely wasn't Kôji's voice. Anyway, Kôji knew she didn't have a boyfriend anymore. She blinked, still too stunned to do anything else.

_Seems she finally realised I'm someone else,_ the redhead thought. _Shame. I should have kept my mouth shut._

Finally Naomi raised her head and watched the man intently. It was only then that she realised that his eyes weren't brown but aquamarine. He had two similar scars over his cheekbones which were barely visible because of his mischievous grin – which resembled Kôji's pretty much. And there was that shock of red hair. So her mistake didn't come as a surprise.

Right at this moment the realisation that she was looking into a completely alien – though rather handsome – face hit her like she'd been slapped. She blushed and finally removed her arms around his neck before she stood up. What was she thinking, hugging a stranger like this? Sheepishly muttering an apology she extended her hand to help him get up as well.

He took it and scrambled to his feet. While he did so he took in her appearance in detail. Slightly dishevelled pink hair framed a small heart shaped face that blushed furiously right now. Bright green eyes looked at him apologetically. Her body was petite but still curvy enough. Definitely a sight he could get used to.

He wouldn't call her stunningly beautiful but she was really cute. And she was quite soft to the touch. Shame she was taken already. He noticed that he still had her hand in his. She obviously didn't.

Before the situation could get too awkward, though, Tifa came back from the kitchen. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly. "I thought I heard some noise."

Like she was hit by an electric jolt the young woman jerked her hand away from his grasp. "I'm fine," she replied in a flustered voice. "It's just... I just..."

"It was my fault," Reno intervened though he wasn't sure why. Maybe because she was struggling for words. Or because her face looked oddly familiar to him.

Tifa's gaze fell onto the Turk. "Reno?" She blinked. "What are you doing here? And what is your fault?" She stepped up to them with a questioning look on her pretty face.

Naomi gave him a short piercing stare. "It wasn't," she corrected, shuffling one foot on the ground. "I mistook him for a friend of mine," she explained miserably.

"Friend?" Reno asked incredulously. "The way you jumped at me, I rather thought he was your lover."

She snorted at that. "In case you didn't notice, I fell," she said. "And what's wrong with being happy to see a friend?"

"Nothing," he replied with a grin. Maybe she wasn't seeing anyone after all.

She shook her head. "Kôji, my lover... that womaniser? Definitely not."

"And how should I know that?" he demanded with a raised eyebrow. "Usually women don't tackle guys when they're just friends."

"He's my best friend! And I didn't tackle you! Like I said, I –"

"I know, I know," he interrupted, raising his hands.

"I just haven't seen him for a while," she finished quietly.

"So what are you doing here?" Tifa repeated her question when Naomi fell silent and Reno simply looked at her.

This caught his attention. "I wanted a beer. Any chance to get one?"

"Of course. It's still a bar." She turned around and went to the counter. "Any other reason you're here?"

"Wanting a beer is not reason enough for you?" he asked with a sly grin. "Do I need more?"

The brunette sighed. "No, but it's rather unusual for you to show up without any ulterior motive." With that she returned to the kitchen.

He still didn't get his beer.

He stared at the door. What the fuck? "What if I said I wanted to see your pretty face again?" he called after her.

"You'll get your beer," Naomi sighed beside him. "She's preparing dinner and probably didn't want to let it burn." Before he could reply she picked up the fallen chair and put it back to its rightful place. Then she scooped up the feather duster, threw an ugly look at the ceiling and went behind the counter where she stored the duster.

"So, how 'bout you?" he asked casually as she rounded the counter to sit down on a stool.

"Huh?" She turned to him. "What about me?"

Reno stepped up to her and propped an elbow on the wooden surface. "I've never seen you here before. You work here now?"

She stared at him for a moment. "No," she replied in a reserved tone. "I don't. I'm just waiting for someone."

"Your lover?" he grinned at her.

She regarded him with a contemptuous look. "As if I'd date that emo," she said scathingly. "Seriously. You really shouldn't joke about things like that."

He blinked. Emo? What was that? "I'm just curious, you know."

"No, he's not my lover," she sighed. "Neither is Kôji."

Now the grin was back on his face. "So that means you're actually available now?"

Naomi narrowed her eyes at him. "Just because I'm not seeing anyone at the moment, that doesn't mean I'm looking for someone."

"Aw, but you can't tell me no one's interested."

She blinked at him. This guy really reminded her of Kôji. "Do you often try to chat up chicks like that?"

"Huh?" He was taken aback. "Nope. Why?"

"Your technique definitely lacks some training, if you ask me. You should consider working on your pick up lines."

"Just who are you anyway?" he wanted to know. "You don't treat me with the usual contempt." He thought that was kinda strange.

"Tifa doesn't," she pointed out with a shrug, "so why should I?" An idea crossed her mind. What if he was...? That had to be it, right? "Ah!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger at him. "I see!"

"See what?" he asked, obviously confused.

Naomi shook her head, suddenly feeling very tired, a nagging sense of dread in her stomach. "Never mind." She rubbed her eyes wearily. What if Cloud had been right with one of his strange theories? If her past life had not been as real as she'd thought it to be? What if someone had forged her memories? If that was true, the similarity between Kôji and this Reno guy wasn't a mere coincidence. And that would explain why none of her friends could be here.

The red headed Turk watched her for a moment. She may be cute but she was definitely some strange chick. "You okay?" he asked carefully as she hid her face in her hands.

Naomi raised her head, looking at him over her fingertips, and shrugged. "Dunno. I guess so."

"You guess?" Reno barely suppressed a laugh.

Tifa chose this moment to return from the kitchen, carrying two large plates of food to the table closest to the counter.

With a squeal Naomi hopped off the stool and hurried over, almost toppling over with her chair as she sat down eagerly.

"So, do I get my beer now?" Reno asked with amusement in his voice as his gaze followed the pink haired woman. There was something about her that he simply could not put his finger on.

"Why don't you sit down first?" Tifa replied with a gesture at the second plate. "Then you can get your beer."

"I thought that was yours?" Naomi said thickly, already digging in like she hadn't eaten in days.

Tifa shook her head. "I already had lunch just before you arrived," she said. She looked at Reno. "You look more like you need it," she joked. "I'll just get some salad later."

The Turk didn't need to be asked twice and took the seat across from Naomi just as Tifa put down two glasses of beer. "Your friend?" he asked Tifa, though he could already guess her answer.

"Yes," the brunette said matter-of-factly. "Why?"

"Just curious," Reno replied nonchalantly.

While they ate a few customers arrived, so Tifa was busy and left them alone. The redhead couldn't shake off the feeling that he'd seen this woman before, though he'd definitely remember if they'd met. He didn't fail to notice that the cute chick avoided looking at him directly and that Tifa shot her a sympathetic look every once in a while. This piqued his curiosity.

"So," he said, raising his glass to the pink haired woman, "how long have you known Tifa now?"

Green eyes bore into his aquamarine ones. "For about a week," she replied quietly. She looked like she wanted to add something but changed her mind. "How 'bout you?" she asked to steer the conversation away from her.

Reno raised an eyebrow. Even without his Turk training it was obvious that she was trying to hide something. "I've known her for a few years now," he said airily, waving a dismissive hand. "Not very well, mind you."

"You don't say," was her sarcastic remark. She could have guessed that without his help. From what Tifa had told her she knew that she was not exactly friendly with the Turks. And that they had been enemies once. Though the brunette didn't seem to mind them. At least not anymore. _If_ her guess was correct and he really was a Turk.

He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table. "So... how did ya meet her?" The Turk wasn't going to give up. This chick was way too strange not to be curious about.

She blinked at him, taken aback. She wasn't sure if she could trust him – how could she? – so it was probably not the best idea to tell him the truth. "I..." she started, then heaved a sigh. "I met her at Vincent's place." At least that was not a lie.

"Vincent?" He was confused. "Who's that?" He turned around and beckoned Tifa over.

Naomi shot a desperate look at the brunette, hoping she would help her get out of this interrogation. Damn his resemblance to Kôji or she wouldn't be as confused as she was now.

As the barmaid arrived at their table she narrowed her eyes at Reno, not having missed the look on Naomi's face. "You know," she muttered, "I would really appreciate it if you didn't harass my friend."

"I didn't harass her!" Reno replied indignantly.

"Really," Tifa said, not at all convinced. She turned to Naomi. "If he's giving you a hard time just say the word and I'll kick him out," she told her gently.

"Hey," the redhead protested. "Just because I'm a Turk that doesn't mean I'll harm just anyone, you know?"

"Huh?" Naomi turned to him in surprise. A frown appeared on her face. So her guess had been correct. Tifa may have told her a lot, and she had forgotten a few things of what she had heard here, but she definitely remembered a bit about what she had told her about the Turks. She racked her brain if she had actually heard something about this particular one.

"Don't tell me you didn't know?" Reno asked her with a raised eyebrow but didn't receive any reply. He turned his gaze on Tifa who shrugged indifferently.

Tifa laid a hand onto Naomi's shoulder and the pink haired woman jerked around to her.

"Oh... sorry." Naomi pushed a few strands out of her face. "I just..." A major headache was starting to set in. With a deep sigh she finally acknowledged that she probably would never be able to return to her old life. Strange enough, right now she almost hoped that Vincent would come back, so she had an excuse to leave.

"Naomi?" Tifa said questioningly, an indefinable look on her face that might have been pity.

Reno blinked. He knew that name. Looking closer at the chick he tried to picture her with chestnut hair. And then it hit him. Of course! Just because of the different hair colour he hadn't recognised her for who she really was. His jaw dropped. Now he finally knew why she looked so familiar. He couldn't believe that he'd finally found her here of all places.


	6. Can it get any worse?

**Chapter 6: Can it get any worse?**

"I really don't get it." Kôji heaved a frustrated sight. After the small earthquake a few days ago no one had seen or heard anything from Naomi. Not only that, her phone had been disconnected ever since. Even her stuff was missing. He should know, since he had been at her apartment to check up on her. And he'd been shocked to find it empty.

"Me neither," Yûichi agreed. "It's just not her style to just leave without a word." Maybe she had simply cracked after the break-up. Though he actually doubted it. "Something must have happened."

"Yeah. I just wish I knew what that might be." The red haired guitarist was at a complete loss. He looked up as someone entered the room. It was Markus. "Still no sign of her?" Kôji asked, trying not to get his hopes up.

The dark haired man shook his head. He had looked everywhere he could think of. He had even asked her ex if he had seen her – since he was about the only one who'd get any kind of reply from that man. At least one that didn't resort to violence, anyway. But he still couldn't find any trace of her. That struck him as strange. She had to be _some_where!

"I can't think of anywhere else to look," Yûichi admitted. "It's almost as if the earth swallowed her up."

"That's ridiculous, you know," Kôji put in. "That's so unlikely, I don't even consider thinking about it." He stood up.

"Where are you going?" the vocalist wanted to know.

"I'll check the hospitals," the guitarist replied. "Maybe she had an accident."

"And took her furniture with her?" Yûichi asked incredulously.

"Do you have a better idea?" Kôji snapped.

"No," Yûichi admitted.

"So. Coming?"

Markus and Yûichi nodded.

* * *

The tall man with the short straight brown hair stood, his hands linked behind his back, and watched the monitor in front of him. His neat features didn't show any interest in what he saw, though. In fact, he looked rather bored. When he heard someone approach he turned around, his deep blue eyes locked on the face of the newcomer. For a while neither said anything. Then, at last, the tall man who had just entered cleared his throat.

"Here to report, sir!"

The other man just looked at him. When the man didn't elaborate, a frown showed on his face. "Well?" he demanded quietly.

He cleared his throat again. "We found out that there has been a disturbance in the remains of Sector 5."

Genesis raised an eyebrow at that. He already knew this. Anyone who could read would know by now, from the newspapers. "Continue," he said flatly.

"One house has caved in just recently for reasons unknown," the man said. "But it has obviously been raided."

"Raided."

"Yes sir!" the other man saluted. "We found evidence that a person or persons unknown to us have been moved from there. Including unidentified equipment."

Genesis considered his opponent for a moment. "Check it out. Tell me who might have an interest in a destroyed house." Though he could already guess. Maybe he had been successful after all, but had been at the wrong place before.

"Roger, sir!"

"And find out who has been moved from there."

With another salute the man left.

Genesis pondered on the issue. Maybe it was nothing. After Meteor, it wasn't so surprising that buildings in Midgar were unstable. But a gut feeling told him that it was more than that. If he had indeed been successful in at least one of his endeavours, and the girl he'd found to bring here... He had to find out. He'd thought, after someone's meddling, that she had eluded his capture. Well, she obviously had, but instead of staying where he'd found her, she could have ended up here. Still not quite where he wanted her, but it was a start. This should make it easier for him to find her again.

Maybe their work until now had not been in vain after all.

* * *

Tifa raised an eyebrow and suppressed a sigh as one of her customers called for her. "Excuse me," she muttered before she left them, giving Reno a piercing look as if to tell him that he should behave or he'd suffer the consequences.

He didn't even notice her glare but continued to gape at Naomi as if she'd just popped out of nowhere.

The departure of the brunette finally pulled Naomi out of her reverie. "What?" she demanded as she saw the look on Reno's face.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "So, your name is Naomi?" he asked weakly, still not having completely recovered from his initial shock.

"Yes." She wrinkled her nose. "Something wrong with that?" She frowned at him. "Is my name that abnormal or why is everyone so shocked after hearing it?"

"Huh?" He shot her a confused look. "No, there's nothing wrong with your name." He ran a hand through his fiery hair. "You mean..." He took a deep breath. "Your family name doesn't happen to be 'Crescent', by any chance?" Reno narrowed his eyes at her. Maybe he was completely wrong with his assumption.

But the shocked look on her face proved him to be correct. It really was the woman whose purse he'd found. With grim satisfaction he propped his elbows on the table and leaned towards her, bringing his face quite close to hers. He could almost hear her mind working furiously.

Naomi squirmed under his scrutiny. She wished that people would just stop staring at her. "Where did you get that name?" she growled. "Did that creep tell you this?"

"Creep?" He had to admit that he was quite surprised that she didn't even deny it. "Who the fuck are you talking about?"

"Vincent." She regarded him with a suspicious look. After that Goth guy had been so shocked to learn her family name she wasn't sure if she'd put it past him to tell anyone.

"Vincent?"

"Yeah." Furrowing her brows she cocked her head. "Creepy guy with a red cloak. Ring any bells?"

"Oh. Him." Now he knew whom she referred to. That ex-Turk who had been experimented on by Hojo, as far as he remembered. "No. I haven't even seen him for months." Not since they'd rescued the children from the remnants.

"So?" she hissed. "Who did, then?" Cloud couldn't have told him. He had been rather... reluctant to talk to any of the Turks at all. And she knew Tifa hadn't, either.

"No one told me." He wasn't sure why he didn't just grab her and take her straight to Rufus, like he was ordered to do. But he doubted that anyone would notice if he didn't bring her yet, since still no one knew that he was even aware of her identity.

Her face showed her utter disbelief. He'd had to get the information _some_where. If not from a person, then where did he get it? "How did you know?" Her voice was strained now. If he knew... who else did? Beside the few people she'd told herself? With a shudder she remembered the dream she'd had right before she woke up in Vincent's apartment. "Did you tell anyone?"

One quick glance in every direction told him that they weren't overheard by anyone. Him being a Turk meant that people avoided him, generally. So there was a quite wide space around their table. "No, I didn't." He sighed. "Look. I know you're not from... here."

There was a tingling sensation in her fingers and a sense of dread rose up inside her. "So it's true?" she whispered. Had Cloud actually been correct with one of his theories? That must be it. Maybe Reno had been asked to find her and take her back wherever she had escaped from? Considering the theory about her having been experimented on was true.

"Is what true?" Reno wanted to know.

"Have I..." She gulped heavily. Somehow she didn't dare say it. Naomi shook her head and hid her face in her hands.

"Didn't I tell you not to harass her?" Tifa suddenly showed up at their table and whacked his head.

"Ow," he protested and inched away from her, rubbing his head. "Jeez, Lockhart! I didn't do anything to her!" he exclaimed. "I just asked for her name, that's all!"

"Sure," Tifa huffed, with her arms akimbo. As soon as she turned to Naomi, however, her expression softened. "Are you okay?" she asked gently as she dropped her arms.

"He knows." Naomi's voice sounded muffled through her hands.

"What?" Tifa blinked at her.

Now Naomi dropped her hands into her lap. "He knows... I'm..." Again, she shook her head.

Tifa turned to Reno. "You know she's what, exactly?" she asked him in a sharp tone. It was obvious that she wouldn't get any coherent statement out of Naomi.

Reno beckoned her to sit down, which she did, an expectant look on her face. "I don't know much, really," he said quietly. "We just happened to find a few strange things in Sector 5. And a purse with her documents. Those were the strangest of all, to be honest." He dropped his voice even more so Tifa had to lean in to listen. "Those documents said she was living in... Tokyo... or whatever it was... though there is no city with that name. I've been looking for her for a few days now. So when you called her by her name I had to make sure it really is the same woman I was looking for."

"Why have you been looking for her in the first place?" Tifa wanted to know. "What have you been doing in Sector 5 anyway?"

"Checking out why the buildings collapsed," he replied. "We found a lot of things. Hers, I guess. Well, the purse obviously is," he continued. "But I really don't know more than that."

She gave him a scrutinising look. "And when did you actually plan to tell me that?" She'd known beer wasn't the only reason for his visit.

"I just did, didn't I?" Reno groaned. "I couldn't tell anyone. Not before I was absolutely sure. Hell, I'm not supposed to at all, actually." He chanced a glance at Naomi who downed the rest of her beer and grimaced. "I thought there was something strange about her from the start. Now I know what it is."

"Don't you dare call her strange," Tifa told him vehemently. "She'd actually very nice. She's just in a rather complicated situation."

He raised his hands in defence. "I never said she was strange. But the fact that she doesn't hate me for being a Turk – heck, she didn't even _know_ what I am at first – definitely is. But if she really is not from here but from that... city, that would explain a lot."

Tifa regarded him with a thoughtful look. "You sure that those documents you found are legit?" she inquired. "She insists that she's from Tokyo, though it is quite hard to believe." As reluctant as Cloud had been to cooperate with the Turks there was no point denying anything right now. Reno knew anyway. And if he did, the rest of the Turks and Rufus did as well.

"Like Hell I know," he growled. "That's what we're trying to find out."

Tifa sighed heavily. "When did you find that house?" she wanted to know.

The redhead shrugged. "A few days ago. We took all the stuff we could find to check it out. There's a lot we can't make anything out of."

With a sympathetic look at Naomi the barmaid furrowed her brow. "Vincent found her in a ruin. She was really sick for a while. She just got better." Heaving another sigh she turned back to him. "If she's up to it, maybe you could take her with you. If those things really belong to her, she will be able to tell you what it is. Besides, I guess she might want them back."

"I guess so." Reno ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. She was probably right. It would help them a lot if this chick knew anything they didn't. But only regarding the items they'd found in the ruin, apparently. "That still doesn't explain why she's here, though. Or how."

"I know." Tifa cocked her head. "So, working together again, huh?"

"Sure looks like it." The Turk couldn't help but grin at her. "I bet Spikey won't be too pleased, though."

Tifa shook her head. "Honestly? Cloud didn't want to ask you for help. He rather went to talk to Reeve. Maybe he knows something."

"Figures." Reno didn't really care that the ex-Soldier still disliked the Turks, and Rufus, for that matter. "But since we're in the same boat anyway..." And maybe Reeve _did_ know something. Who could tell?

"I'd really appreciate your help," Tifa told him. "Even if Cloud doesn't like it." She stood up and looked down on him. "One warning, though: If you do anything to harm her at all, you will have me to answer to."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Believe me, I didn't plan to," he assured her. "Even if I did, I was ordered not to harm her."

Tifa nodded, quite content with his reply. "Do me a favour and take care of her for a bit while I work. At least until either Cloud or Vincent returns."

"Will do."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome... oh, and Lockhart?"

"Yes?"

"Can you bring more beer? She looks like she might need it."

Tifa shot a look at Naomi. "Sure," she said before she disappeared to serve some customers.

Whatever he had expected, it sure wasn't this. He wanted answers. Instead, he had gotten even more questions popping up. This sucked.

Naomi, meanwhile, was confused beyond measure. If this Reno character indeed knew that she wasn't from here... what else did he know? She still didn't understand how he could know. While he had talked quietly to Tifa she had been absorbed in her own thoughts. Even if she'd tried to listen they'd talked too quietly for her to overhear anyway. She hoped that Tifa would tell her later what all that had been about.

Or maybe he could.

Steeling herself mentally, she decided it was well worth a shot. He seemed to be way more talkative than Vincent was. Though that didn't say much. Probably anyone was.

Naomi looked around and finally noticed that none of the other customers sat in their vicinity. This was probably thanks to Reno being a Turk. They really seemed to be disliked. A frown appeared on her face. She wasn't sure if she should pity him. As she turned back to face him she noticed that he didn't seem to mind people avoiding him too much. Maybe he'd gotten used to it.

"Finally recovered?" he asked cockily, not at all perturbed by the fact that she studied him for a moment.

She blushed a little as he caught her staring at him. Damn, now she was also doing it. With a swift look around she got up and thanked Tifa for the beer she brought at that moment, before she rounded the table and sat down beside the redhead. Now that she could look at him closely, she realised that he didn't resemble Kôji that much. She was embarrassed. First she mistook Cloud for her ex (though she'd only seen his back then) and then Reno for Kôji. She should finally accept that those people were different and her friends weren't here. "Sorry for jumping at you earlier," she muttered. "But you really do resemble my friend with that hair of yours. You're even about the same height. Not to talk about the figure."

He waved it off. "No harm done," he said with a grin. "It's rather rare to have a cute chick tackle me."

"I already guessed that," she retorted. "So, how do you know my name?"

He was a bit taken aback by this. Not only did she disregard his compliment completely, but she actually was suddenly all businesslike. "Well, I found your purse."

Naomi blinked at him. "You did?"

"Yup." He flashed her a grin. "With your passport, photo and what-not."

"Oh," was all she could say to that. Excitement rose within her as the prospect of not having been experimented on became clear to her. "So you haven't been sent to take me back?"

"Back where?" he shot back. Lucky as he considered himself that he'd finally found her – the only person he knew being involved in this whole mess – he thought she was rather confusing.

"So you're not," she stated absent mindedly. Well, obviously she'd been right all along. The question remained the same, though – how did she get here? And why?

"I hate to break it with you, but you're not making any sense."

"Huh?" She looked up at him. "Oh... sorry... I... well, Cloud had this theory about me having been experimented on. I really didn't want to believe it, but anything might be possible, right? So, since you knew my name I thought you were ordered to take me back to some sort of lab." She shrugged. "Guess not."

Scenes from a few years ago flashed before his mind's eye and he suppressed them. "We don't do this kind of thing anymore," he muttered sourly.

"How was I supposed to know that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "You said yourself that I'm not from here." She took a sip from her beer. "Who else knows about me?" She paused. "Apart from Tifa, Vincent, Cloud and you?"

"No one."

Naomi couldn't suppress a mirthless laugh. "Are you kidding me? You work for someone, right? So at least your boss has to know."

Reno shifted uncomfortably. "To tell you the truth... I didn't mention your purse to anyone. No one knows you're here."

"Why ever not?" she asked in confusion.

He shrugged. "Well... I wanted to find you first before I reveal this secret," he confessed quietly. He wasn't even sure why he told her this.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you find anything else? Other than my purse, I mean?"

"A lot. I don't even know half of it."

Naomi blinked at him. "Where is it?" she asked in a constricted voice. If her stuff was here... but how? Had her whole life in Tokyo been eradicated? Who would gain anything from this? She briefly remembered her dream again and shuddered. Better not think about it.

"In a... you okay?" Reno studied her face. She looked pained. All this was probably pretty confusing for her as well.

A chill went down her spine. "Can you show me?" she whispered.

"Show you what? The house or your stuff?"

"Both."

Reno shrugged. "Don't see no problem there." He eyed her suspiciously. "You sure you're okay? You look like you're gonna be sick." He raised a hand and touched her forehead. It was too warm to be normal. "You got a fever."

"Damn." She gnashed her teeth. "I thought that was gone."

"I'm not taking you anywhere like this," he stated firmly. "My boss is going to kill me. And Tifa as well."

Naomi wiped some sweat off her face. This was bad. She'd thought she'd recovered. But now she had a relapse. In her eagerness to get outside she hadn't expected that she might get sick again. She just wasn't used to this. "Maybe I should..." She stopped in mid-sentence. She'd wanted to say '_go home_' but that was no option for her. She practically didn't have a home anymore. Cloud was still absent, as well as Vincent. She didn't want to rely on anyone, she already felt bad that Tifa and Vincent had done so much for her. And she hadn't shown much gratitude for their help.

"You need some sleep," Reno stated. It was obvious that she'd wanted to say something else. "I'll ask Tifa if she has a spare room for you."

But Naomi shook her head. "Please," she muttered. "I don't want to ask any more from her. I owe both her and Vincent enough as it is." She looked up at him, silently pleading for him to just leave her be.

"I'll take you somewhere quiet," the Turk offered but he wasn't sure if she still listened to him. Cursing inwardly he got up and went to the counter where Tifa was preparing drinks.

"What is it?" she demanded without looking at him.

"She's sick. She needs sleep. But she doesn't want to owe you more than she already does," he said quietly.

Immediately, Tifa looked up from her task. "What? But her fever just got better!" She wanted to go to Naomi but Reno held her back and she glared at him.

"I know. She says you did enough for her as it is. Anyway, she needs rest." He sighed. "You have a spare room?"

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Yes," she said. "Upstairs on the left."

Reno nodded and turned to see Naomi resting her head on her folded arms. "I'll take her there."

Tifa laid a hand on his arm. "Can you look after her until I can leave here?" she asked quietly.

He looked at her and upon seeing her pleading expression he nodded curtly. He went back to Naomi and nudged her lightly.

She raised her head and looked at him. "What?" she asked tiredly.

"Bed time, sweet cakes," he said and took her arm, heaving her from the chair.

"But – "she started to protest but he interrupted her.

"You should go to bed and get better. Tifa thinks so. I think so. I don't want to hear any complaints."

"Damn, I'm not a child anymore!" she growled. "I can take care of myself."

"You're sick and if you don't do what we say it'll get worse. I'm not gonna treat you as a kid, so don't act like one."

"And you think simply going to sleep helps?"

He rolled his eyes. "Gee. One might think you'd never been sick before."

"I haven't."

"What?"

She snorted. "Before I came here I have never had so much as a cold."

"You're kidding."

She glared at him. "I'm not."

He gave her an appraising look. "Well, sleep will definitely help you get better." He led her though a door and up some stairs.

Naomi sighed in frustration. She knew it was for the best if she just listened to them. She just couldn't help feeling uncomfortable and a bit helpless. But if anything had to suffer it'd be rather her pride than her health, right? She wouldn't gain anything being sick. She didn't want to be knocked out for several days again. So she just followed him without any more complaints.

* * *

Rude looked out of the window while Rufus worked on some papers. He was supposed to have a meeting tomorrow, so he needed to finish them tonight. No one had said anything in a while but the Turk didn't think this silence to be uncomfortable. This way, his boss could go about his business and it left him some room to think.

He wondered what Reno was up to. It surely wasn't like him to hide something and do things on his own. Usually he would at least let Rude know. Maybe he secretly met a woman – finally got himself a girlfriend. Even though he was kind of doubtful about this. But he could well remember when he had been involved with that girl from _Avalanche_, no one had known about that either. But that had been many years ago and Reno had found out eventually.

Their job didn't leave much opportunity to build up relationships. At least not serious ones.

Suddenly he got the feeling that they were being watched. And he certainly didn't like this. He slowly turned his head to look in every direction but couldn't make out anything out of order. All was quiet. Maybe too quiet. He had a bad feeling about this though he couldn't explain why.

As he still watched his surroundings he took out his phone. Whatever his partner had found – if he had found anything at all – he should probably stay away for now. He dialled Reno's number and when the redhead picked up he spoke in a hushed voice. "What is it?"

"Found anything?" Rude asked curiously.

"Yes, but I can't talk right now," Reno said barely above a whisper.

"Fine. Keep yourself busy for a while."

"What? Why?"

"Can't explain. Talk to you later." When he closed the connection he knew he had confused his partner. But that was okay. They could sort it out another time.

Right at this moment someone banged at the door and Rufus looked up, an annoyed expression on his face. Who dared disturb him at this hour?

Rude shook his head, preparing to get rid of the intruder.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door finally gave way and a few people who looked like soldiers entered. He knew he'd seen them before. He would've thought to never see them again. Ever. They were closely followed by someone who he definitely never wanted to see in his life ever again.

Caught by surprise, Rufus gaped at the intruders, not really comprehending what he actually saw. When he reclaimed his bearings, he couldn't say anything but one word. "You?"


	7. Am I losing it now?

**Chapter 7: Am I losing it now?**

Yet again, Naomi found herself faced with unfamiliar surroundings. She groaned in frustration. Obviously, there was something wrong with her. It surely wasn't Vincent who had a problem. Or Tifa. But her.

Up until today she had been convinced that her previous life had been real. Now she wasn't sure about that anymore. But if her memories had been forged – along with anything else – who had gone to the trouble of doing so? And why?

Heaving a deep sigh she grimaced and looked around. This room looked like some sort of library. Naomi raised an eyebrow. Judging by its size it was probably a private one.

Apparently she was alone. So it wouldn't hurt to take a closer look, right? Some of the books looked really old. And who knew? Maybe she could even find a few answers in here.

She stepped up to a table in the centre of the room, picking up a random book. It was one of the newer books here, even if the cover was a bit battered. "_Loveless_" was written across the front cover in old fashioned letters. This surprised her. She knew this kind of lettering had been used back around the time of WWII. Somehow, seeing this, it increased her newly instated insecurity about herself.

Stifling a pang she opened the book. Someone had written something onto the blank page at the front. Just one word.

_Genesis_.

A chill went down her spine. Was that supposed to be a name? Probably.

The only _Genesis_ she knew were a pop band and the official first book in the Bible. And she couldn't imagine anyone naming their child after either one.

Again, this reminded her of the fact that she wasn't home. Not even close to what she thought was home. She suspected that there was no such thing as the Bible here. And she was sure that no one was familiar with the band since it probably didn't even exist here. Most likely they had completely different beliefs here anyway. She didn't know about entertainment aside from Tifa's _7th Heaven_ – if you could consider a bar entertainment – and she couldn't remember hearing any music there.

With a frown on her face, more to take her mind off her musings than anything else, she turned the page and started to read.

* * *

Rude pressed his hand onto a wound on his left arm as he leaned against the wall and tried not to lose consciousness. He hated not being able to fend off an enemy. This was not the first time and the more often it happened the worse it felt. Shame he was the only Turk here right now.

Someone who was supposed to be dead stood in the middle of the room. Either him or a really good clone; wherever that one came from. At least he looked like Genesis. If it really was him – that remained to be seen. Right now the ex-Soldier was alone in the room with Rude and Rufus. He had just sent his soldiers – clones – outside to scout the area. Or to keep others out of this building.

"President Shinra," Genesis addressed the blonde who still sat at his desk and watched the scene before him.

"Genesis," Rufus said with a hint of resignation in his voice. "Or is it merely a clone? Or, perhaps, a remnant? Whichever, what do you want? I don't have any Jenova cells left for you. Kadaj used them all for his short Reunion with Sephiroth."

His opponent smiled a cold smile. "I'm not looking for a supposed '_Mother_' like Sephiroth did," he replied smoothly. "I just want the gift."

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "So you're not after a Reunion?"

"I want the gift of the goddess. I almost had it. You took it from me. I want it back."

The blonde shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about," he admitted.

"The girl. I know you're hiding her from me."

"Girl? What girl?" Now Rufus was confused. He didn't know anything about any girl. "If you're after women you should look elsewhere. I'm not Don Corneo."

Genesis sighed. "I thought you wouldn't want to cooperate," he muttered. "Very well." He stepped up to Rufus' desk. "You have three days to reconsider. Then I will return for her." He leaned in close to the president and it took every ounce of Rufus' will power not to push back in disgust. "You will give her to me. That is not negotiable." With those words he turned around and left the building.

It was only then that Rufus could finally breathe freely again. _Maybe this is connected to the explosion in Midgar?_ He thought to himself. But his subordinates had told him that there hadn't been anybody in the ruins.

He turned to Rude. "Go see a doctor. Then gather anyone you can get a hold of and search the city," he ordered. "Whoever this girl may be he's looking for – make sure you find her before he does."

The bald man nodded. As he crossed the room he took out his mobile phone and dialled Reno's number. "Meet me at Healen," he muttered and put the phone back into his pocket.

* * *

When Naomi woke up she didn't know where she was. She rolled her eyes. Why did she have to be in a different place she'd never seen before almost every time she woke up? As she tried to remember what had happened the door opened and a little girl with long brown hair entered.

She blinked. What was a kid doing here?

Oh. Right. Tifa had told her about raising two orphaned children. So this was probably her place.

As if to confirm her thoughts the girl shouted, "Tifa! She woke up!" before stepping up to the bed. "Hi. I'm Marlene."

"Naomi", the guitarist replied, though the girl probably knew already.

Marlene nodded. "Now I finally meet you," she said. "I always wanted to know the person Tifa visits so often."

"Did you, now?" Naomi couldn't help but smile. This girl was really cute, though she usually wasn't too fond of children. "Didn't Tifa want to take you with her?"

Marlene sat down on the bed with a sigh. "She said you were too sick, so Denzel and I stayed here," she explained. "She was obviously right."

"I see," Naomi muttered, rubbing her face. It seemed that the fever had finally receded since she felt a lot better now. "How long have I been sleeping this time?" she wanted to know.

"The whole night and all morning," the girl told her. "Tifa's making lunch right now." She eyed Naomi curiously. "Is it true that you live with Vincent?"

Naomi flinched visibly. "I don't _live_ with him," she growled.

Marlene blinked at her. "But you stay at his place."

"I'm just crashing at his place out of necessity," Naomi clarified. "Since I can't go home yet I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

The girl regarded her with a thoughtful look. "You don't like him?"

Naomi pulled a face. "Dunno," she sighed. "I barely know him."

"You should give him a chance," Marlene said matter-of-factly. "He's a great guy."

"Well, if he's there at all he doesn't even talk to me." Naomi rolled her eyes. "It's kinda hard to get to know people who avoid you, don't you think?"

Marlene shrugged. "I think he leaves you alone to give you privacy."

Naomi raised an eyebrow. "As if I didn't feel bad enough about taking up his space already," she muttered.

"Don't worry about it," Marlene smiled at her. "If you bothered him he wouldn't let you stay."

At this moment Tifa entered with a tray in her hands. "She's right, you know," she said. "I told you already that Vincent is a nice person."

A frown appeared on Naomi's face. "It's still not my fault that he doesn't show it," she retorted.

Tifa shrugged and put the tray onto the night stand. "He just needs some time to get used to people. He'll open up eventually."

Naomi eyed the food eagerly. "As soon as he starts talking to me I'll believe that." She gave the brunette an apologetic look. "Not that I accuse you of lying, of course."

"I know." Tifa smiled. "But he's not avoiding you," she added. "He's been looking for answers." Upon seeing Naomi's face she shook her head. "He's trying to find out the truth. Why and how you're here. And if what you're saying is true, he'll find a way to get you back home."

Naomi narrowed her eyes at Tifa. But she knew better than to argue. She'd done that often enough during the past few days.

Tifa sighed. "No one's denying that you really might be from Tokyo. But you also have to accept the possibility that you're not," she said. "We just want to make sure what really happened. And we're trying to help you. We're on your side."

"I know," Naomi muttered miserably. "I'm sorry."

Tifa gave her a sympathetic look. "I hope we will find the answer you want." She turned to the door and beckoned Marlene to follow her. "When you finish your lunch you can take a shower. The bathroom is down the hall to the right."

"Thanks," Naomi said as Marlene hopped off the bed and left the room.

"You're welcome," Tifa replied. "If you feel up to it you can come downstairs afterwards." She smiled at Naomi. "I really appreciate your company."

Naomi nodded gratefully, reciprocating the smile before she turned to the food as she heard the door close with a soft _click_.

* * *

Rufus regarded the two Turks with a stern look. "So there is at least one person who was in that ruin, you say?"

"That's correct, sir."

"Your current assignment was what, exactly?" Rufus asked in a low voice.

"To find anyone involved and bring them here," the bald man said quietly.

The president raised his eyebrows. "So? Why didn't you?"

Reno cocked his head. "'Cause Rude found no person," he explained. "I did."

"As far as I recall I asked both of you," Rufus sighed. He looked around. "And where is this mysterious person you found?" he demanded. "I don't see him."

"Her," Reno corrected automatically.

"Pardon?"

The redhead smirked. "It's a chick. About this height." He held a hand at his eyes' level. "Pink hair, green eyes. Bit curious."

"I still can't see her here," Rufus muttered and narrowed his eyes. "Why is that?"

Reno pursed his lips. "'Cause she's sick."

"What do you mean by '_sick_'?" the blonde wanted to know.

"As in, high fever, currently unconscious. I guess."

"You guess?"

The lanky Turk shrugged. "At least she was when I left her. Maybe she woke up already. I don't know."

Rufus was just about to lose his patience. "Left her where?"

A huge grin spread on the redhead's face. "_7th Heaven_."

"What do you –" The Shinra president blinked. "She's with _Avalanche_?" he asked incredulously.

Reno nodded. "Seems Tifa's been takin' care of her for a few days now," he told his boss. "I met her at the bar last night. But I didn't want to make her fever worse, so I left her there."

Rufus ran a hand through his hair. "Well, at least Genesis won't find her there." He got to his feet and sighed. "So, if you can't take her to me, I'll have to go see her."

"Um... I guess I should call Tifa first and ask if she's up?" Reno suggested.

"Do that," Rufus nodded. "I'd like to talk to her as soon as possible. I want to know what Genesis wants with her."

The redhead turned to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Huh?" Reno furrowed his brow. "Getting some stuff from the store room while I make the call," he shrugged. "If it's hers she probably wants it back. At least she might like to have a few more clothes."

Rufus rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Hurry up, then."

"I'll be quick," Reno replied and left.

* * *

Naomi rubbed her sore neck as she descended the stairs. According to the voices she heard, Tifa already had a few guests. She paused in mid-step. Running a hand through her hair, she tried to decide if she could risk being seen. But she'd been at the bar last night. People had seen her there. No one had done anything to her, then.

She sighed deeply. If anyone was looking for her, they'd find her eventually. Like this Reno guy had. Luckily, he didn't seem to mean her harm. So there was no point in hiding upstairs. She'd been scooped up for too long anyway.

With a shrug she resumed her way to the bar. At the door she stopped again, listening. She heard Tifa and Marlene, all right. Then there was a male voice she didn't recognise. Obviously, she didn't need to worry. Yet.

Gods, when had she become so apprehensive? What was wrong with her?

She opened the door and stepped through.

As soon as she entered, all conversation quieted down and everyone present turned to look at her. They had all gathered around a table.

Tifa sat closest to her, with Marlene on her lap. Next to her was a dark haired man with a beard, wearing a blue suit. Across from them was Reno, then a bald man with sunglasses and a Turk suit – the same as Reno's but in a neat fashion. And then there was a blonde man with a white suit.

Naomi approached them with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think I like the effect I seem to have on people here," she muttered and took the empty seat next to Tifa. Immediately, Marlene hopped off the brunette's lap and ran off. Blinking in confusion, the guitarist stared after her.

Tifa giggled, making Naomi turn to her. "Don't worry, she's just getting a few drinks."

"I wouldn't blame her for running away, though," Reno winked at her. "You look like you've been run over by a truck."

Naomi glared at him. "Yeah, like you're one to talk," she replied sarcastically, eyeing his unruly hair and his suit. "Ever heard of ironing?"

Reno laughed at that. "Touché, sweet cheeks," the redhead said with a wide grin.

The blonde man cleared his throat. "Please excuse my subordinate," he exclaimed. "He never really got the hang of what people call manners."

Naomi shrugged. "I think I can handle him," she replied. "I know people like him."

He nodded. "I am Rufus Shinra," he introduced himself. "This is Rude, one of my Turks." He indicated the bald man who nodded at her. "You obviously already met Reno. And this is Reeve Tuesti, Head of the WRO. I assume that you must be Naomi Crescent."

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "You assume correctly," she said. "Did I miss something?" she asked Tifa. "This gathering can't be just about me, right?"

Marlene returned with the drinks and put them onto the table before she climbed onto Naomi's lap, earning a confused look from the musician. She smiled reassuringly and handed the pink haired woman a cup of coffee.

"As a matter of fact," Reeve replied, "it is."

The guitarist almost choked on her coffee. "What?" she managed in between coughs. "Why?"

"'Cause we all wanna know what's up," Reno told her. "You're not the only one looking for answers."

She took a deep breath. "And I guess you'll be wanting them from me," she assumed with a raised eyebrow.

Rufus leaned forward, propping his elbows on the table. "We were hoping for your assistance in this matter, that's correct." He cleared his throat. "Reno said you already know we found the ruin in Sector 5, containing various items. If you could tell us what you remember we can try to reconstruct what happened." He turned to look at Reeve, who nodded.

"We should also run a few tests to see if this whole affair affected you," he said.

Naomi narrowed her eyes at him. "Affected in which way, exactly? Other than being sick for a whole week?" she demanded. "Other than being stuck in a strange place where people think I'm crazy?"

"No one thinks you're crazy," Tifa assured her in a soothing voice.

"Really?" She snorted. "I had a completely different impression, though."

"I don't think you are," Reno stated. "At first I actually thought I was the crazy one, looking for a chick from a city that doesn't even exist." He shrugged nonchalantly as Naomi turned to him.

"At least not on this planet," Rude added quietly. Everyone looked at him and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Is that even possible?" the redhead asked.

"Why not?" Reeve retorted. "The Ancients used to be able to travel from one planet to another. So who says there aren't any people left in this universe who can do just that?"

"You do have a point," Rufus admitted. "Is there any way to find out if this is the case?"

Reeve shook his head. "I don't know. But we could try." He turned back to Naomi. "If you're okay with that."

The guitarist blinked at him. "Let's just say this theory is correct," she said slowly. "Do you think I could go back home, then?"

He thought about it. "If we can find out how you got here it may be possible, yes." He sighed deeply. "Though I can't make any promises yet."

"I guess not," she muttered. "There is one thing you _can_ promise, though."

"And what would that be?"

She sat up straight. "If there is anything I should know, you'll tell me," she said seriously. "The truth. That's all I ask for now."

Reeve nodded solemnly. "How about you come to Headquarters to run a few tests?" he suggested. "Maybe we can find out what caused your illness. Then we could try to prevent you from falling ill again when you go home."

"_If_ I can get back," Naomi added. "Right. And if that doesn't work why not create a few clones to run more tests, while we're at it?" she asked sarcastically. "Just in case I don't survive this experiment, you know," she added with a shrug.

The general mood in the room darkened immediately.

"You really shouldn't joke about stuff like that," Tifa muttered.

"What? It's not possible to clone people," Naomi said. "Is it?" she inquired when no one agreed.

"So they can't copy people where you come from?" Rufus wanted to know.

Biting her lip, Naomi shook her head. "As far as I know, they can't. It's not for lack of trying, though. But all they managed so far was to clone a sheep."

"A sheep," Reno said incredulously. "What would they want a cloned sheep for?"

Naomi shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe a sheep's anatomy is less complex than a human's. Though I kinda doubt that."

"Ethics, maybe? They probably thought it wouldn't be right to copy people, making them test subjects," Tifa suggested hopefully.

The pink haired woman laughed at that. "Are you serious? We're talking about scientists here. If they cared about ethics they wouldn't test drugs or cosmetics on animals. Or create deadly viruses and actually infect people with those." She cocked her head. "I'd bet you anything that they would create lots of clones if they were sure they could control them. But _that_ won't happen any time soon. Their viruses went out of control. And those don't even have minds of their own." She was aware that she generally included her father in this description. But since he had been a teacher for all of her life, until his death, he didn't really count, right?

Reeve regarded her with a thoughtful look. "I don't know about any artificial virus here. But I've seen enough clones to last me a lifetime."

Naomi felt faintly sick. "So it is possible?"

Reno nodded. "Has been for years, actually," he told her.

She shuddered involuntarily. "Okay, if those tests are not dangerous or immoral, I'd say, go ahead," she said to Reeve.

The dark haired man got up. "Good. Shall we?"

"What? Now?" Tifa protested.

"The sooner we find out what all this about, the better." He turned to face Tifa. "Don't worry. I'm not going to harm her."

"I know that," she replied. "But what about her fever?"

"We will take care of that," he reminded her. "At Headquarters, we have a better chance to help her. I know you're worried, but you really don't need to."

With a deep sigh Tifa gave in. "Should I come with you?"

Reno shook his head. "If you closed the bar, it might look suspicious," he said. "Besides... it would be better if we had someone here to keep an eye on things. Someone who's not working for Shinra."

She eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?"

The redhead exchanged a look with his partner. Rude nodded. "I will explain later," he said. "But first let's get her to Headquarters."

"Come on," Reno said to Naomi. "I've got a surprise for you."


	8. Welcome to Headquarters

**Chapter 8: Welcome to Headquarters**

The sun was already setting and the sky was tinged in bright red and yellow tones. Two figures were situated at the large window on the second floor, both with their arms crossed and unreadable expressions on their faces. No one spoke for a while as they watched the truck draw closer to the building.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Vincent asked quietly.

"Working with the Turks never is," Cloud replied with distaste evident in his voice. "But we don't have much of a choice, I fear."

Vincent looked at him. "I wasn't talking about the Turks."

Cloud ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry. I know." He sighed. "But I honestly don't know what else to do. Reeve was the only person I could think of who might actually be able to help."

"I still don't like it," Vincent stated and turned to the door.

"Where are you going?"

But he didn't receive a reply from the raven haired man. After he left the room he shut the door with a bang.

Cloud blinked in surprise. He couldn't remember Vincent getting upset before. Of course, no one was really happy about the idea that they would run countless tests with Naomi. But they wouldn't do anything without her consent. Maybe he could have just asked Vincent why this bothered him so much, though he actually doubted that the ex-Turk would have told him much, if anything at all.

He shook his head. There was no point wondering what the gunman's reasons might be. As he saw the truck stop in front of the entrance he decided that it would be best to avoid Rufus and his lackeys. There were other things he could do. Nodding to himself he made his way to one of the elevators – one he knew would get him out of here without running into the Turks.

* * *

When they arrived at WRO Headquarters it seemed like Naomi suddenly snapped back to reality. Most of the drive she'd been staring at the photo book Reno had given her right after their departure in Edge, probably lost in memories.

He had thought he'd done her a favour giving her this, a piece of her old life. Now he wasn't so sure anymore.

Her face had changed expressions in quick succession – from suspicion to surprise, confusion over longing to hurt, and finally to sadness.

At some point she had closed the book and stared at the cover. Just watching her had been like watching a picture book himself.

Reeve opened the door and they stepped out of the truck.

Naomi hugged the book tightly to her chest as she followed the dark haired man and Rufus, who were deep in discussion. She didn't seem to be aware of them, just followed them automatically.

"You okay?" Reno asked carefully as he fell into step beside her.

"Huh?" She gave him a distracted look. "Yeah. Sure."

Who did she think she was kidding? "Wanna talk?"

"No," she replied curtly.

He shrugged it off. Her loss. "Tseng will bring the rest of your stuff soon." If this photo book was hers, so were the other things they'd found.

"Okay." She stopped dead in her tracks. "What? Here?"

_Finally, a reaction_, he thought as he turned to face her. "Yes. Here."

"Why?" She furrowed her brow.

"'Cause you'll probably stay for a while," he replied. "No one knows how long this will take. Days, at least. Weeks, maybe. Most likely months. So you better make yourself comfortable here."

She seemed to consider this. Then she gave a slight nod. "At least I won't have to rely on Tifa or Vincent anymore," she said quietly as she resumed her way to the entrance.

"But staying here is fine?"

She shook her head. "This is different. They helped me without asking anything in return. I'll never be able to repay that. Here, I will be contributing something. I'm not staying for free."

In a way, he could understand her reasoning. "And you're really okay with all this?" he wanted to know.

She pursed her lips. "If this will get me back home, I'll do it," she told him. "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with this arrangement, but I'll get used to it. I just never liked hospitals much." She shuddered. "And this kinda feels like admitting myself to one."

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"Oh, really," she snorted. "Actually, I do." She turned around and walked backwards to look at him. "Or do you know any other way for me to get back home? To see my friends again, outside of pictures?" When he didn't reply she grimaced. "So, if you have a better idea, any at all, I'll be glad to listen," she said pointedly. "I don't have any choice but to accept anything that might help."

They were at the building now and the door opened behind her. Someone stepped outside. Reno could only see a billowing red cloak and long dark hair. Of course, he knew immediately who it was. He opened his mouth to say something but didn't get the chance to.

Naomi turned back to walk forwards, in order to not collide with the door or the wall. Instead she ran into Vincent with a muffled exclamation and stumbled a few steps back. Quick as lightning the gunman reached out and grabbed her to keep her from falling.

As soon as she regained her balance she stiffened and raised her chin as she looked at him. "Sorry."

He shook his head slightly. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

She gave him a curt nod and sidestepped him to enter the building. "I'm fine."

Reno raised an eyebrow. He had not expected her to greet the man with such hostility. Had he done something to her? The redhead almost laughed at the very idea. From what he knew, the ex-Turk was about the most decent person in existence. If you ignored the fact that he was a very effective killer. But he would never do anything to harm a chick, as long as she didn't try to kill him first.

He followed them inside. "Where'd the boss go?" he asked casually. Rufus and Reeve, who had gone on ahead, were nowhere to be seen.

Vincent indicated a door at the far end of the hall. A sign read 'Main Offices'. Figured. Reno stuffed his hands in his pockets, reluctant to leave.

"Don't worry, I will take care of her," the raven haired man told him.

But this was not the best idea, right? Considering her reaction to him.

Naomi looked around curiously – this didn't look much like a hospital, at least, thank the Heavens – and jerked to attention when she heard Vincent's voice. Judging by the look on her face she was about to say something but decided against it.

"Are ya gonna be okay?" the redhead asked her.

"I'll manage." She shrugged indifferently.

"See ya later, then," he said before he shuffled off.

She watched him slouch to a door on the other side of the hall and gripped the book hard enough that her knuckles went white.

"I will show you to your rooms," Vincent offered.

"Don't they have servants for that?" she muttered, sounding rather disgruntled.

"No, they don't." He gave her a blank look. "I am well acquainted with the facility. I can show you around."

"Why you?" she wanted to know as he led her to an elevator.

"Because everyone else here is working on something," he replied. "And I actually thought you might prefer to see a familiar face so you're not just surrounded by strangers," he added. "I did not expect your dislike of my company to run so deep, though."

She winced at that. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean it like that. I was merely curious." Biting her lip she dropped her gaze to the floor. "But thanks for your consideration."

He gave a curt nod as the elevator doors opened with a soft swooshing noise. They stepped inside.

"You know," she started, still not looking at him, "I rather thought you avoided me, so seeing you here comes as a bit of a surprise."

"I did not avoid you," he stated.

Naomi sighed. "Yeah, Tifa said so too." Now she finally looked up at him. "But that's the impression I had."

"I do not blame you for that." He pressed a button and the doors closed. "Are you certain you want to do this?"

"Do what, exactly?"

Vincent made an expansive gesture. "The tests. Staying in this facility."

She pursed her lips. "If this helps to find out what caused the fever and how it is possible for me to be here... yes. If it gets me back home – definitely." She shook her head. "If they just wanted a willing guinea pig for whatever, I'd have to decline." She paused. "They're not going to test any... strange substances on me, right?" she asked uncertainly.

He huffed. "They better not." When she merely gaped at him, aghast, his expression shifted slightly. "I will make sure no one does anything you do not want them to," he assured her. "Perhaps I should also try to keep you from doing things you might regret."

"Like what?"

He shrugged. "Like doing any unnecessary experiments."

"And how am I supposed to know what's necessary and what's not?" she demanded, unaware of the elevator stopping and the doors opening again.

"I cannot tell you," he said quietly. "Not yet, anyway." He left the elevator.

For a few seconds she stared after him, stupefied. When the doors started to close she followed him quickly in order to not be left behind. "Why are you doing this?" she wanted to know.

"Doing what?" he asked as she caught up with him.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Helping me," she replied. "You saved my life and took care of me while I was unconscious. Even after that, I guess, though I haven't seen much of you. And now you're here for me as well, trying to get me home," she elaborated. "Why do you even care?"

He shot her a quick sideways glance. "I have my reasons."

"I'll bet you do," she grumbled. "And your reasons are...?"

"Not relevant."

She clicked her tongue impatiently. "You can be really annoying, you know."

This made him turn around so she almost ran into him again. "And what is so annoying about me in your opinion?"

Naomi pushed some hair out of her face as she narrowed her eyes at him. "I didn't say you _are_ annoying, just that you _can_ be," she clarified. "Why do you think your reasons for helping me are irrelevant? How am I supposed to understand what's happening if no one even cares to explain it to me?" She sighed deeply. "Did it ever cross your mind that it might make it easier for me to accept your help if I at least knew _why_ you even bother?"

He watched her for a few moments. "I would rather not discuss this here," he said finally.

She blinked at him. "Okay." Taking a deep breath she followed him along the corridors until they stopped in front of an unmarked door.

He handed her a key card. "Try not to lose this."

Naomi looked at the card and then at the lock at the door. After turning it in her hands, she slid the card through the lock and the door opened silently.

They entered a sparsely furnished room, a few doors led off to other rooms. It looked like a regular apartment. She turned to look at him as he closed the door behind them.

"It was prepared at short notice, so there is not much in here," he said apologetically.

"It's fine," she replied quietly. "Reno told me that this Tseng guy would take my stuff here, so it won't stay this empty." She checked all the rooms. There was a small bathroom, a bedroom, a living room and even a small kitchen. She raised an eyebrow at the stove. "And where is the emergency room?" she muttered. "If I use this, I'm definitely going to need one."

"Tifa told me that you cannot cook," Vincent said. "I did not want to believe it."

"Can't?" Naomi laughed. "Now, that's an understatement, if ever I heard one." She shook her head. "I almost blew up my mum's kitchen once when I tried to cook for her. She never let me enter it on my own ever since."

He snorted in disbelief. Then he indicated the book in her arms. "What is this?"

She put the book onto the table, a wistful expression on her face. "Pictures from home," she whispered.

"May I?"

"Help yourself," she muttered, sinking down into a chair.

He sat down next to her and leafed through the book while she told him about the people in the pictures and the occasions when the photos were taken.

"You really miss them," Vincent stated after a while.

Naomi nodded meekly. "Yes. Especially my family."

He gave her a searching look. "Do I need more reasons to help you?"

"Huh?"

"I know you want to go home. You miss those people. Badly. How many more reasons do you think are necessary to help you get back to your family?"

"You can't," she said, bewildered.

"Why not?"

She sighed. "I mean... sure, you could help me get back there. I really want to go home, you know? Seeing my friends again..." She took a deep breath. "But there is now way to go back to my family. Ever."

Now he understood. "I see. My apologies."

She shook her head. "You couldn't know my family's dead."

"How did it happen?" he wanted to know.

"Car accident. Two years ago." She took a shuddering breath to keep herself from crying. "A few months before I moved to Tokyo to start a new life."

He returned his gaze to the photos. "This one reminds me of Reno," he said, indicating Kôji in one of the pictures.

"That's true," she said with a crooked smile. "In fact, when I first saw Reno I actually mistook him for Kôji." She told him how she'd knocked the Turk down to the floor before she'd realised she had the wrong person.

Vincent raised his eyebrows at her. "It's not exactly easy to catch a Turk by surprise," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"I used to be one myself."

"What? When?" She shot him an astonished look.

"I thought Tifa had already told you," he retorted, creasing his eyebrows.

Naomi racked her brains for that specific information. Then she shrugged. "Maybe she did," she sighed. "She told me a lot. It's kinda hard to keep track of things."

"I understand." He regarded her with a thoughtful look. "I joined the Turks when I was rather young. Like all of them do. Back then most people considered this a respectful occupation. A few years later I was ordered to guard a few scientists in Nibelheim. I met Lucrecia there."

She leaned forward in anticipation. Now she would finally find out how on Earth he had ended up in that coffin for thirty years. And what this chick had to do with it.

"I worked there for about two years. Dr Lucrecia Crescent and Professor Hojo were working on various experiments." He stopped to look at her, seeing her blink in surprise.

"Lucrecia... Crescent?" Now it finally made sense. "That's why you were so shocked when you heard my name," she whispered.

He nodded. "We spent a lot of her – and partly my – free time together. I loved her and I hoped she returned my feelings. However, when I learned that she had worked with my father before I was assigned her protection... I questioned her about it. After that she started to avoid me. She accused me of being nosy and said that I shouldn't concern myself with her business."

Naomi's jaw dropped. "But it was your father!" she exclaimed. "Why did she try to hide the fact that she'd worked with him? You had a right to know!"

"I said almost the same thing to her," he said with a faraway look in his eyes. "Later I found out that my father died because of an accident. One that would have cost Lucrecia her life, had he not saved her. She felt guilty about it."

"Oh," she said in a small voice. "I see. I wouldn't..." She rubbed her face. "I understand her guilt, but..." She sighed. "What happened then?" she asked, suddenly not sure if she wanted to know anymore.

"Lucrecia married Hojo. When she was pregnant, they infused the unborn child with cells from a life form that was found in the Northern Crater. With Jenova cells."

"What!" Naomi slammed her hand onto the table. "Experiments with a – that is –" She ran both hands through her hair, trying to voice her thoughts without offending Vincent. She'd done _that_ enough already, though he obviously didn't deserve it. She had no idea where this Crater thing might be, other than probably somewhere up North, or what the heck a Jenova was, but this was simply outrageous!

"I know," he said evenly. "I was against it. I tried to change her mind. But I couldn't stop them. When I confronted Hojo – he shot me."

Now she was at a loss for words. Finally, she regained her composure. "And then he..." She gulped, unable to say what she suspected.

He simply nodded. "First, Lucrecia tried everything in her power to save my life," he told her. "But she was weakened because of the Jenova cells. When Hojo removed me to his personal lab for further experimentation, she couldn't stop him. As soon as she had the child they took it away from her. She never even got to hold her own son."

"That's... horrible," Naomi choked out. "Gods, Vincent, I'm so sorry!"

"There is no need for you to apologise." He was taken aback. "It is not your fault."

"I know, but..." She gave him a desperate look. "The way I acted towards you is inexcusable."

"I do not blame you," he stated firmly. "You did not know what had happened. You were confused. You were recovering from a severe fever. You are as far away from your home as you can possibly be."

She snorted. "That's still no excuse for my behaviour." She raised an eyebrow. "You know... I guess..." Naomi heaved an irritated sigh. "Don't you think you're being too nice?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really have to help just everyone?" she asked. "Did you ever stop to think if someone deserves your help? Probably not. I'd consider this pretty much as 'being too nice'." She shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to criticise you. But honestly, Vincent, if you don't think about yourself just once in a while you'll only end up being used by others."

They looked at each other for a long moment. "I never thought about it that way," he admitted eventually. "I was always trying to make amends."

"To whom?" she demanded. "Lucrecia made her own choice. Or did anyone threaten her to take part in this experiment?"

He shook his head. "No. I asked her if she was sure about it. And she told me that she was. If it only concerned her. If I had anything to say about it, I should do so. But I only said that if it was her wish, then so be it. I turned my back on her and let her suffer."

Naomi threw her hands into the air. "See? The way I see it, you couldn't have done anything. Women are stubborn that way. You'll have to accept that. You need to move on."

"What about you?" he inquired.

"She furrowed her brow in confusion. "What about me?"

"There is a chance that you will not be able to go home," he said. "What are you going to do then?"

What on Earth had that to do with Lucrecia or anything? "I'll have to accept it and get on with my life. Or rather, try to build one here. I'll have to try to make the best of my situation." She rubbed her temples in frustration. "To be honest, I actually expect that there won't be a way for me to get back. But I still have to try." She looked up at him. "I've been here for about a week. I shouldn't give up hope yet."

"And you will do anything?" he wanted to know.

She shook her head. "I already said to Reeve that I wouldn't do anything illegal or immoral," she replied. "I understand your concern. I really do. I suspect what you told me is the reason you're here now. Right?"

He nodded. "I want to make sure that everything will be all right. I trust Reeve. But I would not say the same about his new scientist."

Naomi cocked her head. "So. If you think that something's amiss, you'll let me know about it?"

"I will."

"Good." She nodded. "I want to know what I'm getting into." She gave him a hard look. "Do me one favour, though. Whatever happens – try not to mix it up with what happened to Lucrecia. I'm not her. Just tell me if you think something's wrong, okay?"

"I promise." He raised an eyebrow. "I know you are not here. You do not even look like her. I just could not help worrying when I heard they were going to run tests with you."

She smiled slightly. "Try not to worry too much," she suggested. "But I can promise that I will at least listen to whatever you might have to say what I'm doing. Or rather what they're doing with me." She stood up. "Since I'm not familiar with this place it's probably a good idea if there's someone to point me in the right direction. Maybe you could start with showing me where I can find Reeve. I do have a few questions for him before I let anyone do anything to me."

He nodded and got up as well. "It is a relief to know that you do not simply accept everything without question."

She rolled her eyes as she followed him out into the corridor. "I'd be stupid if I did."


	9. I'll take care of this

**Chapter 9: I'll take care of this**

The studio door opened with a loud, resounding crash. Kôji jerked up from where he was sprawled on the floor, and a huge grin spread on his face. Though Naomi was still missing, the long legs stalking towards him on high heels were a welcome sight for him.

"Spit it out, lover boy," Luca growled in a low voice. "Where is she?"

The redhead suppressed a sigh. He shouldn't be surprised that she wasn't here to see him. "I don't know."

He gasped as one of her stilettos hit his chest, sending him back to the floor. "Wrong answer."

"But it's the truth," he replied, not even close to matching her glare.

"How come I don't believe you?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. She pushed her blonde hair back. "What have you done to her?"

"Calm down, sis," Yûichi's voice sounded from the door. "As far as I know, no one has done anything to her."

Luca turned to the vocalist, her heel still pressing into Kôji's chest. "Why can't I find her, then?" she demanded. "Her apartment's empty. Her phone's cut off." She pointed an accusing finger at him. "I entrusted her to you. And you failed."

"You can't expect us to babysit her 24/7," Yûichi replied calmly. "She's not a child, you know." He looked tired. "We don't know where she is. We've been looking everywhere."

"Then you obviously didn't look hard enough." Her blue eyes lit up in anger. "I want to know what happened to her!"

"Oh, and we don't?" Kôji demanded angrily. "Why do you think we went out of our way to look all over the city to find her?" Finally, he pushed her foot off his chest. "Do I have to remind you that Tokyo is not exactly small?" He stood up, patting dirt off his clothes.

Luca snorted impatiently. "Come on, she can't have vanished into thin air!" She paused, tilting her head.

"It certainly looks like she did, though," Yûichi muttered. "Or we would have found her by now. Rikuo is furious, but I guess I don't have to tell you that."

"Never mind Rikuo, now," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "When did you last see her?"

Yûichi heaved a deep sigh. "About two weeks ago, after she broke up with that... jerk."

Running a hand through her hair, she narrowed her eyes, deep in thought. Then she dug her mobile phone out of her purse. She flicked it open, pressed a button and held it to her ear. "Red alert," was all she said after a short while before she closed the phone and put it back.

Kôji and Yûichi exchanged a bewildered look. "What was that about?" the guitarist asked in confusion.

"That means," she growled, poking her finger into his chest, "that I will take care of this matter now. Got it?"

"How?" Yûichi couldn't help but ask. "Do you know something we don't?"

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Kôji added hopefully.

With a sigh Luca turned away from them to leave the room. "Wish me luck."

Exchanging another glance both musicians nodded at each other. Then they followed her.

* * *

_Where did I end up this time?_ Naomi wondered wearily. As soon as she became aware of her surroundings she knew this was another dream. But after she had learned that she'd probably travelled to a foreign world she'd started to suspect that there was a lot more to them. Those were not mere figments of her imagination.

Maybe she should finally tell someone about those dreams. It might help to find out why or how she was here. After all, the first one had led to her waking up in Edge. At Vincent's place.

She wrinkled her nose. There was no way she was here because of him, right? They had told her that Vincent had found her in a ruin in Midgar. No one could have known he'd be there.

As she remembered that dream she couldn't suppress a shudder. Better not think about that guy now. But there was still a chance that he was responsible for her current predicament, though she didn't see how that was possible.

What had he said back then?

_There you are._

So he seemed to have been looking for her specifically. But why? What did he want? And who had led her away from him before everything had gone dark around her?

It was only now that she remembered about there being a second person. Someone she hadn't been able to see. Not then, not later.

_Don't step on the flowers!_ a female voice spoke up, causing her to jerk to a sudden stop.

She hadn't been aware of moving. He looked up in bewilderment, but couldn't see anyone. Her gaze dropped to the floor in front of her. Indeed, there was a patch of flowers, yellow ones she didn't recognise. They seemed to have broken through the wooden floor, growing wildly.

She blinked. Those were actually the first flowers she saw ever since she arrived here in this world.

_They only grow here_, the voice said. _At least in this city. This place is special._

"Who are you?" Naomi asked, her own voice shaking slightly. "And why can't I see you?"

At first there was no reply, but she started to sense a presence close by.

_I'm only trying to help. I can't let him find you._

Her confusion grew. "Help? How? Who're you talking about?"

_I managed to get you away from him. I'm sorry I wasn't able to send you back home._ There was regret etched into those words.

"So it was you?" she inquired. "You led me away from that room?"

_Yes._

"Who are you hiding me from?" Her patience was running short. "What's this all about?"

_I can't tell you yet. Sorry._

"Where am I?"

_This is a church in the slums of Sector 5, not far from where Vincent found you. He won't find you here._

"A church?" So they had some kind of religion after all, it seemed. "Why here?"

_It's a holy place. A place of life. He can't enter._

Naomi frowned. The way this voice replied reminded her of Vincent. And Luca. Both had an aggravating tendency to give cryptic answers.

_You need to find out who you are. What you are. Then you'll know why he wants to use you. Not even I know all the details._

Naomi turned around. She had enough. All this secrecy was straining her nerves to no end. "I'm human. And I know who I am," she said through clenched teeth.

There was no reply to this but she could feel doubt in the air.

"If you don't want to tell me anything, fine. Then leave me alone."

_I can't._

She sighed in exasperation. "Can't what?"

_Tell you._

"And why?"

_I'm not allowed to. And like I said, I don't know everything._

"What _can_ you tell me, then?"

_Find your origins. Then it will become clear. But beware of him who started all this._

"Who?"

But the presence faded. Silence seemed to seep through every nook and cranny in this church. As she took a closer look she could make out the pews and an altar. But no cross or other religious sign.

This building had fallen into disrepair. Obviously no one came here. _Creepy_, she thought and a chill went down her spine.

She looked back over her shoulder. She'd ask Vincent if he knew anything about this church. She'd like to see the real thing, if it existed.

Anyway, someone had to take care of the flowers, right?

* * *

"No."

"Aw, c'mon man!" Reno complained. "Give her a break!"

"This is important," Reeve reminded him calmly. "And you know she agreed to this."

"Course I know," the redhead grumbled. "But you can't just keep her locked up all the time!"

"I am aware of that and I didn't plan to do so."

"She's gonna go nuts in here if she can't get out and about every once in a while," Reno muttered. "I would if it were me."

"Did she actually complain to you about this?" Reeve wanted to know.

"Nah." Reno waved a dismissive hand. "But she can't like being grounded. She needs to spread her legs!"

Reeve raised an eyebrow. "You mean she needs to stretch her legs," he said, trying not to picture what the Turk had implied. "Not spread."

"Yeah," Reno grinned at him, then his expression turned dreamy. "Though I wouldn't mind doing that for her if she asked me to –"

"Reno!" Reeve growled.

"– but it doesn't look like she will anyway," the Turk finished his sentence. "Give me some credit, man. I'm not gonna touch her if she doesn't want me to." With a mischievous sparkle in his eyes he leaned back. "Though I'd bet that –"

"Enough!" The WRO Commissioner glared at him. "I have already talked to her about this –"

"You have?"

"– and she agreed that it would be best for her to settle in first," Reeve continued as if Reno hadn't said anything. "She's a guest, not a prisoner. But we need to ensure her safety, considering that Genesis is after her. And we can't do that if she's wandering around."

Reno rolled his eyes. "Whoever said I'd let her go on her own?" he sighed. "Course I'd go with her." He cocked his head. "Or do you think I can't protect her? I'm a Turk, after all."

"And what do you plan to do with her?" Reeve demanded, though he immediately regretted asking. He probably didn't want to know what was on Reno's mind. At all.

The redhead shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe this, perhaps a bit of that..." he said with an indefinite gesture, obviously enjoying ticking Reeve off.

"Reno!"

"What?" The Turk scowled at him. "If you really want to know, I thought I could show her some of the nicer parts of this planet." He crossed his arms. "So far she's only seen Edge, right? And that's not the best first impression you can get. Who knows what she thinks about this place. No wonder she wants to get away."

Reeve gave him a blank stare. "She'll have to stay until we make sure she won't fall ill again, at least. We're still going through the basic tests to find out if she's in good health. This is only her third day here at Headquarters."

This reminded Reno of something. "Right. You win," he muttered. "Genesis gave us three days to hand her over. He'll expect to collect her today. So we should keep her safe for a while." Though he hated to admit this.

With a deep sigh Reeve shook his head. "We need to monitor his movements," he said. "If she wants to go out we need to know where she can go safely."

"When do you plan to tell her about him?" the Turk asked, unusually serious. "You know she wanted the truth. I think we should give it to her."

"Soon," Reeve replied. "I need to talk to her anyway, about what she remembers about her arrival here. With everything else going on I didn't get the chance to, since I didn't see her since the day she got here."

"The sooner you do the better," Reno sighed as he turned to leave. "Preferably before Genesis comes knocking at your door."

Reeve couldn't help but agree with the redhead.

* * *

Naomi rubbed her arm unconsciously as she shuffled along the corridor, deep in thought. She was ticking off some mental notes and was shocked at the amount of things still left to do.

She still couldn't believe how many of her belongings were here in this world. She was still busy looking through them all but there was no way to tell if something was missing.

By now she was positive that she hadn't come here out of her own will. How could she have, anyway, if she'd never even known that a place like this existed? There were a lot of theories for her being here, one more unlikely than the next. To be perfectly honest, every one of them sounded rather far-fetched. Even the one she thought to be the truth.

No wonder the others hadn't believed her when she'd told them where she was from.

Shaking her head, she tried to push those thoughts aside. This wouldn't get her anywhere. She needed facts.

When she looked up she found herself in an unfamiliar corridor. Had she taken a wrong turn at some point? Was this even the right floor?

"Lost?" someone spoke up behind her and she jumped about a foot into the air.

She whirled around, laying a hand over her wildly pounding heart. "God, Vincent!" she exclaimed. "I _swear_ you're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days with your habit of sneaking up on me."

"I did not sneak up on you. Perhaps you should pay more attention to your surroundings," he suggested, sounding rather amused.

"Yeah, maybe," she admitted. "Most likely I'll get lost anyway," she said with an expansive gesture. "This all looks the same to me."

He inclined his head. "I'll show you back."

"Thanks. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I was looking for you."

"Why?" She gave him a surprised look. "Did you know I'd get lost?" she asked suspiciously.

He shook his head slightly. "I admit I thought you might," he replied. "Rude asked to let you know that he fixed your equipment. It works here now."

"Really?" Just the fact that her stuff had needed fixing to work here actually proved its foreign origins, right? But she thought this was at least some improvement to her situation. At least she could listen to music or watch movies now. "Are you sure?"

"Rude tried everything. Since there was no power outage, I assume it does," he told her.

"That's great!" Her mood lifted considerably. "And you were looking for me just because of this?"

"I thought you might want to know," he said flatly.

"Sure," she muttered. "Thanks."

He nodded curtly. "All of your belongings should be here by now." He turned to look at her. "Do you really need three wardrobes?" he asked in wonder. "Of that size?"

She flashed him a sheepish grin. "I do have a lot of clothes, though not as many as my best female friend," she said. "She's a fashion designer. She made most of my clothes."

Vincent raised his eyebrows at that. "I noticed you have a lot of more or less everything," he stated.

She laughed. "Lots of clothes, music and books, mostly."

"And pictures."

Naomi nodded. "Oh. And movies." She shrugged.

"Movies?"

She blinked. "Yes. Never seen any?"

"No." He shook his head. "There is no such thing here. Not as far as I am aware."

"What?" Her jaw dropped. "Seriously? No movies?" She ran a hand through her hair. "So you don't have a cinema either," she muttered. "What about a theatre?"

"There was one in Midgar. But it has been destroyed," he replied.

"Jesus Christ!" she said. "You really don't have much entertainment here, do you?"

"There is the Gold Saucer." He gave her a strange look. "An amusement park, if you so will. I imagine there is also still a theatre there."

"That's it?" she asked incredulously. "You can't be serious!"

"I am." Vincent tilted his head.

Naomi gaped at him, disbelief etched on her face. "But you have music here, right?"

"Some."

"TV shows?"

"Newscasts."

She raised an eyebrow. "So you use your TV to watch the news, and that's it?"

"Yes," he said.

"Good gracious!" She blinked. "So, you have this Gold Saucer thingie. What else?" she wanted to know.

"Not much." He sighed. "Wars. Destroyed cities. Poor people. Soldiers and scientists. There is not much more to find here."

"Huh." She couldn't believe it. From what she had seen the people on this planet weren't that unhappy. At least not those in Edge. Considering the fact that they barely had anything here.

"I take it that you have a lot of entertainment where you come from."

"Lots, yeah," she confirmed. "This industry's pretty huge. I think we could almost have more artists and entertainers than anything else, though I'm not really sure about that," she muttered. "Singers, actors, painters and what-not. Casinos, amusement parks..." She paused.

"So this world cannot compete with yours," he stated matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"Your world is obviously much better than this one."

Naomi stared at him. Was he kidding? Then she blinked. With a snort she burst into laughter, startling him.

"Why is this so funny?" he inquired, not sure if he had said something wrong.

She wanted to reply, really, but she couldn't because she was laughing so hard. At some point she stopped in her tracks, unable to go any further, and doubled over, leaning against the wall for support.

"Are you all right?" Vincent asked in concern as he bent down to look at her reddening face.

She wiped tears of laughter out of her eyes and gasped for breath. "I'm sorry," she choked out, holding her stomach. "But..." Another laughing fit passed with him watching her in growing bewilderment. "It's not really that funny, actually," she breathed as she finally regained some self-control.

He raised his hand to wipe another tear from her cheek but stopped mid-way to her face as she winced.

Naomi shook her head weakly. "It's just... I wouldn't say my world is really that much better."

"Why would you say this?"

"It's different from this one," she said with an expansive gesture. "But that doesn't make it better by necessity." She shook her head again, wiping even more tears off her face. "We certainly do have a lot of entertainment," she continued. "Probably more than we need. But we also have a lot of wars, pollution and Earth is hopelessly overpopulated. I don't even want to start on criminals. That could make anyone sick." She shrugged. "From what I can tell your people aren't as unhappy as most of ours." She sighed. "It's really hard to explain my world to someone who has never been there."

"But still you want to return." It wasn't really a question."

"Course. It's my home. And I miss my friends."

He watched her for a few moments. "Let us go," he finally said. "If you cannot explain, perhaps you can show me some things from your world," he said quietly. "Like your movies."

She narrowed her eyes at him, then she rubbed her face before she nodded and pushed herself off the wall. She followed him to an elevator and rolled her eyes. So she really was on the wrong floor. She should have known.

When the elevator doors opened she stepped inside with a cheerful "Beam me up, Scotty!"

He just gave her a blank look and she shrugged sheepishly, a lopsided grin on her face, but not explaining what she was talking about. How was he supposed to know where that quote was from?

As the doors closed he continued to look at her, not saying anything at all.

She had the feeling that she was forgetting something. Something rather important. But she couldn't remember, so she just tilted her head and tried to avoid looking at him as they went up.

* * *

Genesis opened the door and looked at the empty space where Rufus's desk had been three days ago. His expression hardened. This was the only indication for the anger he felt.

What a fool!

He should have just given the girl to him. Why did he have to complicate things? Did he expect to be able to hide her forever?

An icy smile spread on her face.

President Shinra couldn't possibly know what this girl was worth. If he did, he would want her for himself. But most likely he didn't have a clue. Not even the girl seemed to know much about herself at all. At least nothing that really mattered.

He turned on his heel and left the building. He knew he'd find her eventually. But he'd have to hurry. Time was running short.

"Call the professor," he said to one of his clones. "I have to talk to him. As soon as possible."

The clone saluted and left.

_I'll get you_, he promised silently. _Even if it is the last thing I do._

Hopefully she would be in his possession before it was too late.

* * *

_**A/N:** Finally finished. This chapter was harder to write than I thought. I hope you enjoyed it._


	10. Heading for trouble

**Chapter 10: Heading for trouble**

Tifa heaved a deep sigh as she made final arrangements to close up. After Naomi had left with Reeve and the Turks a few days ago, and Rude had told her about Genesis later, she couldn't stop worrying.

She didn't know much about the ex-Soldier, but of course she'd heard of him. She knew he'd been friends with Sephiroth and they had both been with Soldier for a long time.

She shuddered.

Both men had been experiments. One by Hojo and the other one by a guy named Hollander. Both had lost their sanity when they'd found out they were just tools for a bunch of scientists.

It was actually quite sad, really. Especially since so many people had suffered under Hojo's madness.

Sephiroth.

Cloud.

Vincent.

Aerith.

Tifa shook her head. Now she could really appreciate how lucky Naomi was that Vincent had been the one to find her in that ruin. She didn't want to imagine what could have happened if it had been Genesis. Or someone even worse.

There was one thing she couldn't grasp, though. What in Gaia's name did Genesis want from Naomi? Was he responsible for the musician being here? And if that was the case, how had he managed to get her here? How had he found her in the first place? Not even Rufus had known about her.

The brunette pushed a few dark strands out of her face. Every time she thought about it, even more questions arose. She really hoped Reeve would be able to solve this mystery.

She wondered what Naomi thought about all this. Maybe she should talk to her, it was possible that she wasn't comfortable discussing it with Reeve or Vincent. Tifa decided to take a day off to visit her at WRO Headquarters.

She jumped when the phone rang, snapping her out of her thoughts. Who could that be now? As she answered the phone she flinched upon hearing a squeal. She couldn't suppress a smile. "Hi Naomi."

Tifa listened for a while. "Of course I'll visit." She tilted her head. "Soon." Her smile grew even wider.

She listened again. "That's great!" she exclaimed. "I told you Vincent is – " Tifa blinked as Naomi interrupted her. Now confusion mingled with her enthusiasm. "Hang on... You want me to accompany you to a date?"

Tifa quickly held her phone away from her ear as Naomi shouted that it was, in fact, not a date!

When she thought that her eardrums would be safe she returned the phone to her ear to listen. "Sorry," she said with a small laugh. "Of course it's not."

As Naomi rambled on about everything that had happened at Headquarters, Tifa barely registered that the door opened. "I see." She raised an eyebrow. So Naomi had finally managed to get Vincent to talk to her. But the brunette thought it rather strange that she didn't even mention Genesis. Did that mean they still hadn't told her?

"If it's just some moral support you need, I'll be happy to give it," she assured her friend. "I need to talk to you anyway." Her eyes flicked to the newcomer and her heart seemed to skip a beat. "Any time. I'll call you back, okay?"

They said their goodbyes and she closed the connection before she turned to the person who had just entered the bar. "I'm sorry, but we're closed," she said pleasantly, albeit a bit stiffly.

"I'm not here for a drink," Genesis replied amiably. "I want my gift of the goddess."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Though she vaguely remembered hearing this term before. But she didn't know when or where. Behind the counter she fingered for her fighting gloves.

Her cautious movement was not lost on him. "I think you do."

Before Tifa had time to react he jumped over the counter and grabbed her throat. As he lifted her off the ground she clawed at his hand but he wouldn't release her. "Where is she?"

* * *

Cloud was just on his way back to 7th Heaven as he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Shaking his head in confusion he tried to dismiss it as a trick of the light. But he had a strange feeling about this. He should check this out. He parked his bike and went a little ahead, looking around in concentration. But at first he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

All his senses were on alert. He felt being watched. And he certainly didn't like this feeling. Still trying to keep his eyes everywhere he slowly drew his sword.

But even though he anticipated an attack he almost missed it when it happened. Some helmeted guy jumped at his back and it was only thanks to his training and abilities that he managed to block the assault with a swing of his blade. He took a step back and kicked the attacker in the chest, almost sending him to the ground.

He barely had time to recover as the next one tried to get at him but he dodged the attack before he immediately swung his sword at the guy. It didn't take long until he was surrounded by those strange soldier-like guys with helmets. He didn't need to ask to know that they were Genesis clones. And it wasn't really hard to guess what they were set out to do.

His mind was racing as he slowly turned around to measure his chances to get out of this unscathed. They weren't too good but it also wasn't impossible to get through those clones. There were at least twenty of them blocking his way. With a grim expression Cloud gripped his sword harder and swirled it over his head as he quickly decided which one of those clones he should attack first.

* * *

Naomi snorted irritably as she put her new mobile phone onto the table. It was a black one, similar to Vincent's, minus the silver patterns. It seemed that almost all the phones here looked like that.

How on _Earth_ could Tifa think she had a date? A _date_! That was just ridiculous. True, she had planned to watch a movie with Vincent. She could have done that before. But first she had wanted to get all her things in order and put them onto the shelves. So, for the time being, she had resorted to lend him a few books. Maybe he got a general idea about how things were back home.

Anyway, she still felt kinda uncomfortable being alone with him. That's why she had asked Tifa to join them. And she had thought that the barmaid would like to see some movies as well, since she also didn't know them. But jumping to conclusions like that...

Tapping her foot on the floor she let her mind wander. She hoped that her friends back at home were okay. Did they miss her? Probably. Or maybe they had given up waiting for her to return.

She shook her head vehemently. She shouldn't even think about it. If all went well, she'd be home soon. Hopefully.

With another sigh she let herself fall back onto the sofa. She knew she'd miss Tifa when she went back. And Marlene, even if she'd met that little girl just once. Maybe she would even miss Reno. She was almost sure about that.

_What about Vincent?_

Groaning in frustration she covered her eyes. Just where had that thought come from? Vincent was used to being alone. She barely knew him. Heck, he hadn't even really talked to her until a few days ago.

_Maybe he felt as uncomfortable with the situation as I did._

That was possible. Now that she knew a bit more about him she didn't think he was that bad at all. She certainly didn't dislike him. He just needed some getting used to. But if she wanted to go home she shouldn't get too used to him.

_Wonder what he thinks about me?_

Rolling her eyes she sat up straight. God, she really should get a grip. What the heck was wrong with her lately? With a swift look around she decided to busy herself – right now just about anything was fine with her, as long as it distracted her. If she spent too much time thinking, she'd go nuts.

* * *

Cloud was breathing heavily. He had taken out most of the clones but there were still a few of them surrounding him. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. With a grim expression on his face he turned to the next soldier as a shot rang out.

He quickly turned and raised his sword to defend himself. But as one of the clones dropped to the ground he noticed that no one was aiming at him but them. More shots followed and soon the enemy party was reduced to only two of them.

The remaining clones turned around and fled as Tseng and Elena stepped into view.

"So they attacked you too, huh?" the female Turk said as Cloud lowered his sword. "Seems they're all over the town now."

"What was this attack about? They should have seen that Naomi is not here with us," Cloud said suspiciously. "And they weren't as serious a threat as they could have been."

Tseng shook his head. "Maybe it was a warning. Or they were supposed to distract us, which is more likely."

"Distract us from what?" the ex-Soldier inquired. "Naomi's not even in town."

"Dunno." Elena shrugged. "Maybe they think they found her trail or something." She looked up at him. "Where were you headed?"

"7th Heaven," Cloud replied, an uneasy feeling spreading within him. He didn't think the clones had attacked them without good reason. "I need to go."

"Wait." Tseng shot him a serious look. "We'll go with you." Upon sensing Cloud's impatience he quirked an eyebrow. "Whatever they are really doing here, this concerns us as well."

"Whatever." The ex-Soldier turned around and went to his bike. "Hurry up, then."

Even before he stopped his Fenrir in front of the bar he felt that something was wrong. Scowling, he kicked the bike onto its kickstand and squared his shoulders, not even waiting for the Turks to follow him.

With a mounting sense of dread he stepped up to the door and opened it.

What he saw inside made him freeze in place for a second.

The whole place was wrecked. Shattered bottles covered the floor, every chair and table had been smashed to pieces. The counter was a smouldering pile of rubble.

A groan was to be heard and he dashed to the place where some of the debris was moved by someone lying underneath.

He frantically pushed the splinters aside and heaved a loose board off a familiar frame. Long brown hair hung in tangles, covered in dust. "Tifa!" he whispered urgently. "Can you hear me?"

Her eyes fluttered open upon hearing his voice. "Cloud..." she muttered weakly. "We need to –" She broke off in mid-sentence as she lost consciousness.

_Damn!_

Without further ado he hoisted her into his arms and turned around.

And found Tseng and Elena at the door, staring at the poor remains of _7th Heaven_.

"Do me a favour," he growled. "Check up on Marlene and Denzel. If you find them, take them to Headquarters. I'll have to talk to Reeve. Seems like Genesis is getting closer to his goal, more quickly then we hoped." With that he left the bar.

* * *

"Reeve Tuesti."

The WRO Commissioner turned around, though he didn't even need to look to know who had spoken to him. The flat, disinterested voice could only belong to one person.

"Shelke," he said with a sigh of relief.

She nodded curtly. "You said you may need my assistance?"

"That may be the case, yes." He sighed again. "Do you think you could work with our network again?"

"You want me to perform a Synaptic Net Dive?"

"If that would be no trouble for you." He eyed her curiously. Her outer appearance had changed pretty much ever since they had rescued her from Deep Ground and the Tsviets. Though he couldn't really say that about her behaviour. "Do you think that the kind of data you'd need could be retrieved from a regular person?"

"I guess so," she replied. "Probably. What do you want to know?"

Reeve rubbed his temples before he sat down and started to tell her about the current situation.

* * *

Shortly after receiving a call from Tseng, Reno prowled the corridors, cursing under his breath.

This was not good. Genesis showing up at _7th Heaven_ was definitely bad news. Even though no one had actually seen him – except for Tifa, who was currently unconscious and couldn't tell them for obvious reasons – they all knew it had been him. Who else would have torn the place apart?

It was just a matter of time before he managed to find Naomi here at Headquarters. Reno didn't need Reeve or anyone else to tell him that it would be a good idea to take her to a different place. One that could probably be safe for her.

But where would that be? He didn't know any place Genesis would definitely not get to.

The red headed Turk stopped dead in his tracks.

They should try to find a place the ex-Soldier wouldn't even consider looking for her. Some place you wouldn't expect a chick – a foreign one at that. He needed to talk to the others. They really shouldn't underestimate Genesis.

But first he would talk to Naomi. He thought it was ridiculous that Reeve still refused to tell her about the threat. She had a right to know. He was after _her_, for Gaia's sake!

As he entered the corridor housing her rooms he stopped again. Where did this strange smell come from? The closer he got to her door the more distinct it became. He just couldn't place it. Had something happened?

_Fuck!_

What if Genesis had already found a way to get her? And managed to fool the alarm? He ran to her door and kicked it open, not even bothering to enter a code or even knock. When he entered he was greeted by a wall of smoke. Damn, damn, _damn_! Coughing, he stepped further into the room and tried to discern his surroundings. "Yo!" he called out. "You there?"

"Unfortunately," came the reply in a strained voice. He heard some shuffling from the kitchen, then a crash.

He quickly entered the kitchen and coughed again. "What the fuck?"

At least now he knew where all the smoke came from. It was a relief that Naomi was on her own. No Genesis. So he hadn't found her after all. She was sitting amidst a pile of rubble, barely recognisable as what was probably supposed to be food, and some shards. Her arms were badly bruised and burnt, as well as her face.

"What in Shiva's name –" Reno started but didn't finish his sentence as he saw her flinch.

There were stains on her shirt and jeans. A swift look around was all he needed to gather what had probably happened here. "You suicidal or what?" he inquired as he stepped over to her. "Trying to give me a heart attack?"

She grimaced as she clumsily got to her feet. "I was hungry," she replied meekly. "And so I tried –"

"I thought so," he interrupted her. _Right after I feared Genesis might have kidnapped or even killed you._ He wasn't sure if he should help her get up since he didn't know where he could safely touch her. "Damn, first that creep and now this," he muttered darkly. "Come on." He lightly laid a hand on the small of her back to steer her out of this mess. "Let's get you patched up."

"I'm sorry," she whispered miserably as they made their way out of her apartment.

Reno took his phone out to ask for someone who could clean up the kitchen and – if possible – remove anything that would be considered dangerous for this chick. Like all the appliances. Hell. "You could have asked someone for help," he admonished. "Or simply gone to the canteen."

"I know." She winced. "But I didn't want to trouble anyone." Naomi bit her lip. "Guess that didn't work out at all."

"Yeah, that's true." Reno sighed. "But at least I know you weren't exaggerating when you said you couldn't cook."

Naomi snorted. "I just wanted to fix a quick snack."

"I'll get you something to eat later." The Turk led her through the corridors, gathering surprised or worried looks from passers-by. "First we should take care of those injuries."

They didn't talk any more until they arrived at the infirmary.

* * *

Vincent raised an eyebrow at Reeve. "Are you certain that this will work?" he asked quietly. "She probably would not want us to invade her personal space."

Reeve shook his head. "This is about trying to find out what happened when she arrived here. Maybe we will find something she can't tell us because she just doesn't remember."

"And we don't invade anything," Shelke added flatly. "I am a professional at this. I know what to look for."

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Vincent shifted his gaze to the ex-Tsviet. "I would consider going through one's memories very much personal," he objected. He knew he wouldn't like it much if someone did this to him.

"We're not going to do this without her consent," Reeve retorted. "You should know this."

The gunslinger inclined his head. "I am aware of that." He diverted his attention to the entrance of the infirmary, where they were talking through the procedures needed to be undertaken for the SND, as the door opened.

"Yo!" Reno called out. "Paramedics needed here!"

A very shaken and miserable looking Naomi entered right behind him.

He went over to them in an instant. "What happened?" he demanded sharply. It surprised him that she avoided his eyes and bit her lip, not replying at all.

Reno scowled at him. "Leave her be," he snapped at the ex-Turk and steered the musician to a stretcher where she sat down gingerly.

A female doctor came over and looked at the burns. "This looks rather serious," she said sternly, then she called out instructions to her staff. "We need to get you out of those things."

Immediately someone pulled the curtains around the stretcher closed and a group of nurses gathered around the guitarist, cleaning her wounds and trying to get her out of her clothes. "What are you doing?" she demanded in a thin voice. "I can't..."

"Keep still," the doctor told her as she raised a syringe.

Naomi winced at the mere sight. "What is this?"

"A sedative." Ignoring her protests she injected the clear liquid into Naomi's arm.

Grinding her teeth, the guitarist jerked her arm away when she was done. "Are you sure that you should just inject me some stuff if you don't even know how I react to it?" she hissed. "I might be allergic to that!"

"Believe me, if you were allergic to a simple sedative, I'd have known from the blood tests," the doctor informed her. "Now will you quit moving?"

Naomi grimaced, letting the paramedic staff do their work. She really hated anything to do with hospitals. But she would have to endure this. It was her own fault that she got injured, anyway.

On the other side of the curtain Reno couldn't bear to listen anymore. He turned to Reeve. "What were you up to down here?" he wanted to know.

The commissioner tilted his head. "Follow me."

"Why?" the redhead demanded.

"Because it would be better to discuss this somewhere else." He shot Vincent a questioning look.

The gunman nodded and watched the others leave. He stepped up to the curtain, waiting for the paramedics to finish. He wondered how Naomi had sustained those injuries. It could not have been an attack or someone would have raised an alarm. So it had probably been an accident.

"What's that?" the musician asked sharply and there was movement to be heard.

"Just drink it," someone – perhaps a nurse – replied in a commanding tone.

"Right," Naomi snorted sarcastically. "Not before you tell me what that stuff is."

Vincent took a deep breath, trying to gather his bearings, and pushed the curtain aside. "What are you trying to give her?" he asked in a dangerously quiet voice. He saw that the guitarist had shuffled to a spot as far away from the nurse as was possible on the stretcher she was positioned on, eyeing some small vial suspiciously.

The nurse turned around with an exasperated sigh. "You're not supposed to be here. Get out."

"What is she supposed to be drinking?" He didn't even consider leaving.

"It's just an elixir," she growled. "Not poison."

"Are you sure that it is safe for her to drink?" he wanted to know, fixing his gaze on the nurse instead of Naomi, who just sat there in her underwear. Not that he hadn't seen her like that before – it hadn't been avoidable after he'd first found her – but he knew she felt uncomfortable. This time she was conscious.

"Would I give it to her if it wasn't?"

Vincent didn't reply but took the phial from her, sniffing it experimentally. It really was an elixir. "It is quite all right," he told Naomi soothingly. "I assume that you can drink this."

She inched closer to him, trying to cover as much of her body as possible with her thin arms, painfully slow. "Are you sure?" she asked tentatively.

He handed her the phial which she didn't refuse to take anymore. "I am. Trust me."

With a deep sigh she pinched her nose and swallowed the elixir. At first, nothing happened. But after a short while her burns began to heal up, drawing a surprised squeal from her.

The nurse threw her hands into the air and left in a huff, clearly offended that her professional opinion obviously wasn't appreciated.

Slowly, Vincent began to unclasp his cloak and took it off before he laid it around Naomi's shoulders to cover her. Only then did he dare look at her. "How do you feel?" he wanted to know.

"Better," she replied weakly. "Thanks." She gulped heavily. "What was this stuff?"

"A restorative," he told her. "An elixir is supposed to heal your wounds and refresh your spirit."

She stared at her arm wonderingly. "Is it just me or does that stuff always work this quickly?"

"It's synthetic. An organic elixir would work much quicker," he said. "May I ask what happened?"

Again, she just bit her lip, obviously embarrassed. "It was my own fault," she whispered. "I..."

"You do not need to tell me if you do not wish to do so," he said when her voice trailed off.

She shot him a grateful look. "I think I should go back and get dressed." She sighed deeply. "I hope I find my way this time." She glanced at her clothes and sneered. "I guess those are only suitable for the trash bin now."

Vincent looked her up and down and she hugged herself subconsciously. Even though she still didn't look at him, she seemed to sense it. Suppressing a sigh, since she didn't seem inclined to move, he scooped her up into his arms, trying to wrap the cloak around her as much as possible.

She squealed in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"I will get you back to your rooms so you can get dressed," he replied flatly.

Naomi protested but gave up quickly. From experience she knew that it was futile. If he set his mind onto something there was no way to talk him out of it. "You know," she muttered wonderingly, "this is actually the first time I can see your face." Her cheeks reddened and she averted her gaze but couldn't help sneaking another glance at him.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head vehemently, the colour in her cheeks deepening. "No. I didn't mean it like that." She bit her lip. "I just don't see why you would want to hide it in the first place," she added in a whisper. "And don't tell me you have your reasons. I guess you do." Naomi narrowed her eyes at him.

"I did not even say anything."

"I know. But I can guess what you want to say. At least sometimes."

"How so?" His eyes met hers briefly before she turned her head to look where they were going.

She shrugged. "I just know it."

"Am I that easy to read?"

Naomi laughed at that. "Easy to read? You? Are you kidding? Anything but that." She shook her head. "But there are moments when I simply know what you're going to say. Call it intuition, experience, whatever."

For a while they were both silent. As they arrived at her apartment door he stopped short. "What is this smell?"

"Oil." She groaned in frustration and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Damn... my card's in my pocket downstairs," she growled.

Vincent gently set her down and entered a code to open the door. "I will retrieve it some other time."

Naomi frowned at him. "Who else knows this code?"

"Reeve, Reno and I do. As far as I am aware no one else has access to this code."

"So if you wanted to you could get in there any time you wanted?" she asked darkly.

He regarded her with a non-committal look. "You know I would not do this."

She sighed. "Yeah. I know. Sorry." As they entered the apartment Naomi rolled her eyes. She heard people rummaging in her ruined kitchen.

"What happened in there?" Vincent asked, giving her a look that demanded a reply. "Did something explode?"

"Sort of," she replied curtly and disappeared in her bedroom to get dressed. When she returned he stood in the middle of her living room, his arms crossed. She heaved a deep sigh. "Yeah, yeah, okay, whatever. I tried to fix something to eat and I blew up the kitchen. Happy now?" Decidedly not looking at him she sat down on her sofa, holding his cloak out to him.

He took it from her. "No. How did you manage this?"

"I told you I can't cook." She glared at him as he fastened the clips, so his face was hidden again. Shame.

He gave an amused snort. "So I assume I will finally have to believe this, then."

She blinked at him. "Did you think I was _kidding_ about that?" she asked incredulously.

Vincent shook his head. "No, but it still is hard to believe that a woman should not be able to cook."

"You'd better get used to that thought," she muttered and pushed some hair out of her face. Now what? "Weren't you busy before I crashed your party downstairs?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Do you want me to leave?"

With flaming cheeks she grabbed her cigarettes and lit one. "Then I would just say it." She shot him a quick glance. "I just thought you had somewhere important to be. Would probably be more interesting than taking care of me."

A few seconds passed in silence before he took the liberty to sit down in her armchair. "I wouldn't say that you are not... interesting."

She barked out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah. I'm the foreign oddball who can't even cook," she said bitterly. "The one who doesn't even know anymore what is real and what's not." She rubbed her face. "I just don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"We will do anything we can to help you," he promised, not knowing what else to say. _At least I will do everything_, he added silently.


	11. Going through Hell

**Chapter 11: Going through Hell**

With a deep growl Genesis hit the wall, not caring that he left a rather deep hole there as he removed his fist.

"Quit that," the professor snapped at him. "Or do you think you need even more wounds?"

"I'm not that badly injured," Genesis muttered and glowered at the other man. As if it was his fault that this chick in the bar had put up a fight. And a rather good one, he would have to admit if he were in the mood.

"Badly enough that you need treatment." He should his head with a sigh. "Honestly, you need to think before you act. Not afterwards."

"Hollander," the ex-Soldier said flatly, "are you absolutely sure that this girl is what we need?"

"That is about the only thing I am sure of," he replied distractedly while he fixed a bandage on Genesis's arm. "She wouldn't be here otherwise, right? Without her we can't do anything. Neither for you nor for your brothers."

Genesis snorted. "And she really is the right one?"

Hollander looked up from his task. "Is she, now?" he asked wonderingly.

Genesis cocked his head, pondering on the issue. He remembered the moment when he had found her, intent on taking her to this facility. It hadn't been swift, or easy, like he'd hoped it to be. But the instant he'd seen her he had simply known he'd found the right one. He had felt it. Though, interestingly enough, she hadn't even been well protected. But she had been aware of his presence. This fact alone should be enough.

Her lack of protection made him pause. Why had no one guarded her? The fact that he'd had to look for her for so long clearly meant that at least someone had known her value and tried to hide her. It was possible that someone would come looking for her. Perhaps her real guardian had been here all along, biding his time until he was needed.

Genesis shook his head. It was no use wondering about that now. He needed to find her again. Soon. No one else would do, apparently. Though he didn't know how anyone could be sure about that. But they were. At least, he was.

"Hollander," he muttered. "Call on the others. I have an idea."

* * *

There was a commotion outside and Reno hurried out. He'd expected them to arrive way earlier. "What kept you?" he growled at Tseng as his boss climbed out of the truck.

Paramedics were already there, placing Tifa onto a stretcher. Good. Though she was still unconscious. Not good.

"We needed to make sure that no one followed us," Tseng replied tartly when they entered the building. "Did you tell Reeve we'd be here?"

The redhead nodded. "Obviously," he said, indicating the paramedics.

"Did you tell anyone else?"

"Not yet." Reno grimaced. "How bad is it?"

"Not as bad as it would be, had we not found her." Tseng shook his head. "She's a tough one, or she'd be dead already. She'll live."

The paramedics carted Tifa off to the infirmary and out of sight.

Reno rubbed his temples. Two emergencies in one day were a bit much for his taste. At least he knew Naomi would be okay. He shot a worried glance at the door through which the paramedics had disappeared with Tifa. He sincerely hoped that she would recover as well.

"Come on," Tseng said. "There's nothing we can do here now."

"I know." Reno sighed as he pushed through a different set of doors. "I guess you'll want to talk to Reeve?"

"Of course. And I have a job for you and Rude."

The red haired Turk raised an eyebrow. Loath though he was to leave at the moment, he was of course eager to do anything that would help kick Genesis in the butt. And he knew that Tifa and Naomi were in good hands here. "There's one thing I need to take care of first."

Tseng gave him a stern look.

"I'll make it quick." Reno rolled his eyes as he shuffled off to the canteen. There, he loaded a tray with as much food as he could, earning funny looks from the staff. He ignored them. He knew nothing would go to waste. Not with Naomi.

"Gosh, you that hungry?" an amused voice piped up behind him and he stiffened.

Suppressing an exasperated sigh he turned to face the newcomer. "Yuffie," he growled. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

The ninja scowled at him. "I'm here to help Reeve." She eyed him suspiciously. "Same as you, I guess?"

"I'm here on Rufus's orders," he replied. "In this case it amounts to the same thing, though." He sighed. "Do me a favour, will ya?"

"Why should I?" she challenged cockily.

He had to restrain himself not to kill her right then and there. "This is for Reeve's guest," he said, nodding at the tray in his hands. "Can you take it up to her rooms?"

Yuffie huffed. "Why don't you do it yourself?"

"'Cause I have an assignment." He closed his eyes for a second in order to remain calm. "She's injured. Do you want to make her get it herself?"

"Well..." she said slowly. "If this is for Reeve's guest... why not?" she quipped, finally taking the tray from him.

Reno gave her directions and he was relieved when he saw her leave. He should have known that this annoying brat would show up sooner or later. He mentally apologised to Naomi since she was the one who would have to put up with the ninja now. Though he actually wasn't too worried about her. She would make her point if she needed to.

He shrugged and then left in search of Rude.

* * *

"I finished reading your books," Vincent said, earning a surprised look from Naomi. "I will return them to you later."

"Already?" She blinked at him. "It would've taken me ages to read them."

"I found them to be rather interesting."

She made a face at that. "I think they're boring," she admitted. "But maybe that's just because I had to read part of them for school."

He raised an eyebrow. "So you are not interested in your world's history?" he wanted to know.

"Oh, I am," she replied. "Just not in form of those dry textbooks." She shrugged. "And some events in our history are rather depressing." She heaved a sigh, running a hand through her rather messy hair. "Do you mind if I take a quick shower?"

Vincent gave a small shake of his head. "Go ahead."

"If you want to you can have a look at the other books or whatever may catch your interest," Naomi said with an expansive gesture before she stood up and headed for the bathroom.

As soon as the door closed behind her, he started going through her books, careful to put everything he examined back to its rightful place. He could still hear the water running when there was a knock at the door. There was a short moment of indecision. He knew she would definitely want to kill him if he more or less dragged her out of the shower. So he could only answer it himself.

As he opened the door he saw Yuffie standing there, carrying a tray laden with food. It was probably for Naomi.

The ninja gaped at him. "Vince?" she said incredulously. "Why are you here? I thought Reeve's guest was a girl? And you know your way around anyway so I didn't think I'd have to take food here for you..." she babbled on.

He didn't reply and before she could question him further he took the tray from her with a curt 'thanks'. Then he closed the door in her face. For good measure he even locked it. Not to be impolite, but he knew from experience that Yuffie would surely try his patience.

As he returned to the living room the water stopped. He put the tray onto the table and continued looking through her things on the shelves, waiting for her to finish.

After a few minutes Naomi stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and still rubbing her wet hair with a towel. Upon seeing the tray on the table she stopped short. "Huh?"

Vincent couldn't help being amused by her bewildered expression. "Room service," he said dryly. "I assume Reno sent someone to take it here."

She lifted her gaze up to him. "Yeah... he'd promised he'd get me something after he found me in the remains of my kitchen."

He quirked an eyebrow at that. "Well, the kitchen is taken care of. But from what I can tell you will not be able to try to prepare any food in there anymore." He considered this for a short moment. "Perhaps it is better this way."

Now that he thought about it, it was a good thing that the workers had left a while ago, with the door being locked and all.

"You're probably right," she sighed, eyeing the tray carefully before she sat down.

"May I ask why you would risk such an accident if you knew what would happen?"

"I didn't expect it to turn out _this_ bad," she said. She tried some of the food and closed her eyes in delight. A strand of her pink hair fell into her face and she blew it away impatiently, only for it to fall back.

She had barely raised a hand to flick it away as Vincent stepped up to her and gently tucked it behind her ear.

Naomi blinked at him, blushing. "Thanks," she muttered, focusing on her food. After a few bites she lifted a plate. "Want some?"

He shook his head. "This is yours."

"Do you ever eat?" she asked curiously. "I've never seen you do so."

"I eat," he said simply. "Usually not in company."

"Usually." She gave him a once-over. "You look like you could do with some food, though."

He looked at her for a moment. "Are you certain that you want to share your food with me?" he asked with an amused voice as he removed his cloak.

Naomi just stared at him, open mouthed, then she shook her head as if to clear it, blushing even more furiously. "I wouldn't offer if I wasn't," she mumbled, averting her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" he wanted to know as he sat down beside her, the books and other things all but forgotten.

Biting her lip she shifted her attention back to the tray. "No, it's nothing," she said weakly.

"Are you sure?"

Naomi nodded.

Vincent considered her with a thoughtful look, not failing to notice that she deliberately avoided to meet his eyes. Had he done something to offend her? "There is something I feel you should know about," he told her quietly.

Now she turned to him with a wary expression on her face.

"I actually expected Reeve to have told you by now," he continued. "He asked everyone to keep quiet about it since he wanted to talk to you himself."

She swallowed. "Reeve hasn't told me anything since I first arrived here," she said irritably. "At least he hasn't told me anything important at all." Her eyebrows creased in confusion.

He shook his head. "I am aware that he failed to tell you. I do not wish to cause you discomfort. But I certainly think you have a right to know."

She leaned back, watching him intently. "Go on, then."

* * *

_Crash!_

Kôji, who had just been about to knock at the door, took a step back, a bewildered look on his face. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come here.

Just as he decided that a silent retreat might actually improve his health – a lot – the door opened and Luca glowered at him, looking dishevelled.

He blinked at her. "What happened?" he asked cautiously.

"If you're already here you can just as well help me," she muttered. "So don't just stand there, trying to catch flies." With that she turned and went back to whatever she had been doing before, leaving the door open for him to follow her.

He should have stayed home.

She was obviously in a bad mood and it didn't take a genius to guess what the reason was.

Naomi was still missing. And no one knew what to do about it anymore.

Kôji squared his shoulders and entered the apartment.

"What the –" he started as he closed the door behind him. The place looked a mess. What on Earth had she been up to?

Upon entering the living room his question was answered, more or less. Luca was kneeling on the floor, rummaging in a dresser, throwing all kinds of things aside after examining them shortly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" the redhead asked incredulously.

"What does it look like?" she shot back. "I'm looking for something. I thought that was obvious."

The guitarist raised an eyebrow at her. "Can I ask what you're looking for without you killing me?"

Luca heaved a deep sigh and sat up. "Something of hers." She scowled at her surroundings, clearly dissatisfied with the general situation.

Now this confused him. "Why are you –" he started, but she interrupted him.

"I need to find her."

"Huh?" _Smart one, really_, he thought sarcastically. So she tried to find something that belonged to Nee-chan. But how did she think this would help find her? "How?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "If I had one of her personal items it would make things easier."

"I hope you don't expect me to understand why," he remarked with a raised eyebrow.

For a moment she regarded him thoughtfully. "No," she sighed. "I guess I shouldn't."

"Care to explain?"

Running a hand through her long hair, she averted her eyes. "I'm not sure if I can."

"Hey," he said and then sat down beside her. He hugged her. "Tell me. Maybe I can help."

Luca snorted. "You could help look for –" She didn't get to finish her sentence because Kôji grabbed both her wrists and pushed her to the floor. To be honest, this didn't surprise her. He was an incorrigible womaniser, after all.

"I got a better idea," he suggested as he leaned in close.

"What are you..." she protested. "Kôji!"

"What?" His lips caressed the sensitive skin on her throat. "You really need to work off some tension."

"But I need to find her!" she insisted weakly.

"The way you go about it, you won't find anything soon," he said hoarsely. "Relax."

"Why should I?"

He chuckled lowly. "Because you can't resist me?"

Luca rolled her eyes but then tilted her head to grant him access to her shoulder as he worked his way down. He was right. She knew it. But there was no way in Hell she'd admit it.

* * *

Naomi gave Vincent an incredulous stare. She opened her mouth to say something, couldn't find the right words, closed it again. This was all a bit much for her. She actually appreciated that he had been decent enough to finally tell her something she really needed to know about – why had no one said anything before now, though? She asked him about it.

The gunman inclined his head. "I cannot say why Reeve would not want anyone besides himself to tell you this," he said quietly. "Like I already said, I think you need to know about this and that is why I told you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Thanks," she muttered, running a hand through her pink hair, which she'd done quite a lot while she'd listened to him, so it looked rather dishevelled again. "So no one thought this news might be important enough to me?"

"Reno wanted to tell you." He pursed his lips. "They almost had a fight about this."

Naomi tilted her head. "Well..." she sighed. "This Genesis..." Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her. "Holy _shit_," she exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. She tripped and almost fell to the floor but Vincent quickly caught her before she could get hurt.

"Careful," he said close to her ear. "Or I might think you need protection from yourself rather than from Genesis."

A shiver ran down her spine and she looked up at him. It would have been easy for him to help her get up again, but for some reason unknown to her he didn't. She gulped heavily. _Stupid_, she chided herself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. I want to get home. I shouldn't –_

Just at this moment someone knocked at the door – tried to break it down, more like, from the sound of it – and she almost jumped out of her skin. With an exasperated sigh and Vincent's help she got back to her feet – finally – and stomped to the door. "The fuck...?" she muttered in dismay. Who could that be now?

She tried to open the door but found she couldn't.

_Wha–?_ She blinked. What was this? It took her a few moments to manage to unlock it and then she opened it, cursing under her breath. "Just kick the door down, why don't you?" she growled as she saw Reeve and some girl stand in the door.

Reeve shot her an appraising look. "Is there any reason you locked the door?" he wanted to know.

"I didn't even know it was locked," she replied indignantly. "But that doesn't mean you can come crashing in here like this."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "We need to talk."

"Too late," she huffed, crossing her arms as she turned on the spot and returned to the living room where Vincent stood at the window, cloak back in place. "Vincent already told me about Genesis since you obviously didn't feel the need to let me know."

"I planned to tell you," Reeve sighed as he followed her. Upon seeing Vincent he looked rather surprised but seemed to dismiss the gunman's presence for now. "I just had a lot of other things to take care of."

"Why not let anyone else tell me, then?" she wanted to know. "Why tell them to keep quiet? Did you think that something like this wouldn't be important to me?" Her gaze fell onto the girl who stood in the door way and shot her a sour look. "Who's that, by the way?"

"This is Shelke," he introduced the girl. "She's here to help." He rubbed his temples. "Did you tell her about Tifa?" This question was directed at Vincent.

The ex-Turk furrowed his brow. "What is wrong with Tifa?"

"Genesis paid her a visit, I thought you knew that." Reeve was obviously surprised. "Guess you didn't."

Vincent shook his head. "I have been here," he replied with an expansive gesture. "Ever since you left the infirmary."

Naomi gaped at them. "What happened to Tifa?" she asked weakly.

"She has been hurt," Reeve explained. "Genesis was looking for you at her bar and she obviously got in the way."

"Damn!" Without further ado the musician hurried out of the apartment, completely dismissing anything the others called after her. She finally arrived at an elevator – at least she had been able to memorise the way _there_, thank God – when Vincent caught up with her.

"I will accompany you," he said.

"Why?"

He regarded her with a dark expression on his face. "If he can trace you to Tifa's bar there is about every chance that he will find you here as well," Vincent replied.

She blinked at him. "Oh," she said in a small voice. She had not considered that. "Okay, if you don't mind sticking with someone like me, then..." She shrugged uncomfortably. It was not that she minded him being there. She just didn't want him to feel obligated in any way.

Vincent inclined his head and they stepped into the elevator. "I promised to protect you. So I will."

Naomi pursed her lips but didn't say any more until they arrived at the infirmary. She quickly pushed through the doors and looked around. When she saw Tifa lying in a bed, unconscious and obviously hurt, she flinched. It only took her a few steps to be at her friend's side. "Dammit," she growled through clenched teeth. "What'd he do to you?"

She took Tifa's hand between her own, desperately wanting the brunette to wake up. Which, of course, she didn't. "What did you tell Reeve?" she asked Vincent after a moment.

"That you will approach him later to talk about any other business," he said, keeping some distance from her.

She nodded curtly. That was fine with her. "What about that kid?"

"Shelke?" He took a step closer to her. "She is not a 'kid'. She is older than she looks."

Naomi rolled her eyes. "What's her business?" she clarified.

"This is something you should talk about with Reeve." He paused. "Not that I do not want to tell you. But..."

"I see," she sighed. "It's okay." She sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding Tifa's hand. "Sorry, I shouldn't snap at you. It's not your fault." _Just Reeve's_, she thought. _And probably mine._ "I really am grateful that you're willing to help me."

He nodded and left it at that.


	12. I hope it's not too late yet

_**A/N:** Okay. First things first. I really am sorry for the delay. I wanted to finish this chapter way sooner. But somehow, it didn't really work. I started a few of the scenes in here before, but never managed to really finish them the way I wanted. And there is still something going on that's called real life. There are other things I have to take care of. But I am glad I finally got around to complete this chapter. I hope the next one won't take as long as this. I hope you enjoy it._

* * *

**Chapter 12: I hope it's not too late yet**

Yûichi sat alone at a table in the cafeteria, waiting for his best friend to return. Kôji had told him that he would again try to coax an explanation out of Luca. She obviously knew something about what might have happened to Naomi. At least, she seemed to have a pretty good idea.

Knowing his friend, Yûichi didn't expect him to be back too soon. The redhead would most likely try to do a lot more to Luca than just talk.

He sighed. If he weren't so worried about Naomi he would wonder what was up with those two. They didn't date, but somehow they often ended up together. Never for long, though.

When the door opened he looked up. It certainly wouldn't be Tatsuya or Hideo. After Luca had explained the situation to their manager – since he wouldn't listen to anyone else – Rikuo had sent them home until further notice. Of course, both of them had offered to help look for Naomi. But they weren't as close to her as Kôji and Yûichi were. Anyway, Tatsuya had his girlfriend and their young daughter to take care of. And who knew who Hideo was currently screwing around with.

Upon seeing Naomi's ex, however, Yûichi's expression darkened. The nerve of him! Didn't he know that he'd done enough damage already? The blonde didn't look too happy to see him as well.

"What do you want?" he growled. As far as he was concerned, it was this guy's fault that Naomi was gone. It was not only that he disliked him. Whenever he saw him, he had the distinct feeling that there was something... wrong about him.

"I need to speak with Luca," the blonde replied with a sneer. "Do you know where I can find her?"

"Trying to estrange another friend of ours, are you?" Yûichi retorted viciously. "Get out of here."

He narrowed his eyes at the vocalist. "It's important."

"Important, is it?" Yûichi snorted. "Who would have guessed?"

"It is." He seemed to consider something and didn't like what he came up with. "It's about Naomi."

This caught Yûichi's interest. "Do you know where she is, then?"

"I never said I didn't," he replied with a nod.

"But Markus asked you if –"

"He only asked if I had seen her since she vanished. Which I hadn't, so I didn't lie to him," he explained.

"And you never even thought about telling us anything?" Yûichi asked incredulously. "Damn. I knew you were a selfish bastard, but I didn't expect you to be such an arsehole."

He regarded him with a contemptuous look. "I had my suspicions," he said slowly. "I needed to make sure they were correct."

"So?" Yûichi demanded. "Are they?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Then why don't you tell me where she is?"

"It's not that easy. Even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to go there." He ran a hand through his hair. "But I think Luca might be able to find a way." He clenched his jaw. "I know I made mistakes. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid." He retrieved a key chain from his pocket which he handed to Yûichi. "I know he made sure you won't be able to trace her. But _I_ can make sure Luca can follow me as soon as I'm back."

Yûichi furrowed his brow in confusion. "You do realise that you're not making any sense, right?" he said. "And who is '_he_'?"

"No one you know."

"Who?!"

He shook his head. "I don't have the time to explain. I should have returned already. But I managed to delay my departure because I wanted to give this to Luca." He indicated the key chain Yûichi was holding. "It's really important that you give it to her. Or you won't see Naomi ever again." With that he turned to leave the cafeteria.

"Hang on," Yûichi called out. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

He paused at the door. "No. It's a fact." He threw a look over his shoulder. "It's your only chance of finding her. I still don't like you. But maybe you can help her. I suspect something has gone wrong, or they wouldn't have called me back. So it might not be too late yet." He took a deep breath. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened."

Yûichi gaped at the door that just closed behind him. What the fuck had that been about? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. This was all rather confusing. Most interestingly, he didn't seem to recall the guy's name. He barely remembered what he looked like, now he was out of his sight. What the...?

All he knew for sure was that he needed to talk to Luca as soon as possible. And there were still a few questions he wanted to ask that guy.

He got up and hurried over to the door, hoping he might still catch up to him, but instead he ran into Kôji. And luckily Luca was with him.

"What's wrong?" Kôji asked after a look at his face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Maybe he had. He frowned and his gaze dropped to the key chain in his hand. "Did you see the bastard?" They must have. There was no way he could have left without running into Luca and Kôji in this short amount of time.

"See who?"

"Naomi's ex."

"No." Luca gave him an appraising look. "We didn't see anyone on our way here."

How was this possible? He looked up at her and put the key chain into her hand. "We need to talk."

* * *

Reno grimaced as he hopped out of the helicopter, closely followed by Rude. True, he would do just about anything to get rid of Genesis. But he wasn't sure what they were supposed to be doing here.

No. That was not correct. He did know. He just didn't see the point.

"This is ridiculous," he said to his partner.

"I wouldn't say that."

"Tseng has been here before. D'you really think he wouldn't have found anything that might be the least bit interesting?" Reno pushed some hair out of his face and suppressed a shudder.

"Not necessarily." Rude went ahead towards the ghost town. "Last time they were here they were looking for something else entirely. And they had found it quickly enough."

"Right," the redhead sighed. "Let's hope we find something just as quick. I want to..." He shook his head. "This place gives me the creeps," he finally admitted.

Rude nodded. "Let's get to work, then."

As they entered the first house, Reno felt the small hairs on his arms rise. No one had lived here in years. This was even worse than Midgar. The former capital was just as empty as this town, but not for as long, and at least there he was used to the surroundings.

"Do we have to search every house here?" he asked, more to himself.

"I don't think so," Rude replied anyway. "Only those which were used by Shinra."

Reno snorted. "So that makes most of them." He ran a hand through his hair. "What do you think we could find here? Don't you think someone would have removed anything valuable?"

"I'm not sure." Rude sighed. "We don't even know if Shinra is involved in this."

Reno grumbled something unintelligible. Something Shinra _wasn't_ involved in? Highly unlikely. He was just glad that he hadn't accompanied Tseng when he had been here a few years earlier. His boss had visited this place with one of those Soldiers and a few others. What had the Soldier's name been again? Right. Zack. Angeal's puppy.

"There's nothing here," Rude said eventually.

Reno agreed. This was exactly what it seemed to be. An empty house. The next was just as empty. And the one after that.

"Let's try this one." His partner indicated one of the bigger houses.

This looked like it might have been used for... whatever. He didn't even want to know, really. He suppressed a heavy sigh. "Okay," he muttered.

Once they were inside he felt even worse than before. Whatever had happened in here, it had left a creepy impression on the interior. As far as he was concerned, they couldn't leave this place quickly enough. But they needed answers. He seriously doubted that they would find anything here, but at least they had to try. Even if he didn't like it.

Rummaging through anything they could, it was obvious that Rude felt uncomfortable as well. Reno crouched down to open a drawer when he thought he saw some movement out of the corner of his eye.

He froze. _Damn it, you're a Turk_, he admonished himself. He turned to look at the thing he thought he had seen. But there was no one there. Had he imagined the movement? He shuffled over to where it had been, though, examining the wall closely. It looked like there was a small groove where you wouldn't expect one.

So, obviously there was something hidden behind the wall. Smart. He should have thought of that before. "Gimme a hand, will ya?" he called out to Rude. "I think I found something."

His partner went over to him, and as soon as he saw what Reno wanted to do, he searched his pockets for some tools. Together they worked on the covering until it finally loosened.

"Someone must have been really worried anyone would find this," Reno observed unnecessarily.

"You think so?"

Reno shot Rude an exasperated look. "No. Seriously."

They removed the cover and were surprised to find a staircase behind it. Those were the first stairs they saw that led down.

"Jackpot." There had to be something down there. Why else would someone have gone to the trouble to hide the stairs from prying eyes? Though Reno wasn't sure he wanted to know what they would find, he followed his partner down the stairs.

When they arrived at the bottom, Rude used a torch to locate a switch. Strangely, this house still had electricity. Though there were only two light bulbs that lit up, so it still wasn't that easy to discern their surroundings.

"I'll call Headquarters to let them know we found something," Reno muttered. He flicked his phone open. No signal. "Or not." With a sigh he put the phone back into his pocket before he looked around.

The room looked like some sort of laboratory. But it was a lot smaller than the ones Hojo had used. There were cabinets filled with files. A desk with a chair. A lab table. And in the far corner, a Healing Tank filled with Mako.

"There is no way we can take all of that with us now," Rude said, examining the files.

Reno stepped up beside him. "Fuck." He read a few names on the files. _Project S_. Had Hojo been here, after all? But there were no records about him ever working in Modeoheim. That had been Hollander. As he opened the file he thought it was incomplete. But that could be because he didn't know too much about this stuff. Better give it to someone who did.

There was one file, though, that was much thicker than most of the others. It was labelled _Project C_. He couldn't suppress a shiver. He handed Rude the other files he'd taken from the shelves as he took that particular one. When he opened it he had to take a deep breath.

He started to read, but had to stop after a short while. This was seriously sick. If he had his way, he would burn it. But that wouldn't make the contents untrue. And it would ruin their chance to really find out what Genesis was after. From the few pages he had read, Reno had a good idea, though.

"Let us take whatever we can carry, seal this place, and get the Hell outta here," the redhead said in a low voice. "Someone else can get the rest, I'm done with this place."

"What does the file say?" Rude asked quietly.

"It's another experiment."

"On another human?"

Reno nodded. He was seriously grossed out.

"Anyone we know?"

Reno nodded again. "She won't like it."

Rude looked at him with dawning realisation. "Oh."

"Right." The redhead gritted his teeth. "Not only that, but it seriously looks like her parents were involved in this."

* * *

Vincent was not surprised to find Naomi at the infirmary. She had been here almost constantly ever since Tifa had been brought here. She had only left the brunette's side when she didn't have a choice.

Reeve had been wise enough to leave her alone for now. Especially after she went berserk on a nurse who had tried to get her out of here.

Of course, the nurse had resigned in protest.

Right now, Naomi was asleep, most likely from exhaustion. She had barely slept during the past two days, desperately waiting for Tifa to wake up.

Fascinatingly, Tifa had shown signs of improvement, even though she still had not regained consciousness. The doctors had said that they could not really do anything except watch her healing process. At least until she woke up. But they had also said that she was healing faster than she was supposed to.

Maybe it was thanks to Naomi being with her.

The only person who could approach Naomi without getting his head bitten off was Vincent. That was why Reeve had sent him to collect her. They finally needed to discuss the matter of the SND.

But Vincent didn't have the heart to just wake her up now. She definitely needed some rest. So Reeve would have to wait a bit longer.

As he stepped closer he noticed that she looked drawn out. Had she eaten while watching over Tifa? He couldn't remember. But then again, he hadn't been here all the time, only visited every once in a while to check up on her.

No, he decided. There was no way he would deny her some much needed rest. But sitting there like this, slumped over Tifa, her hand clasped in her own, couldn't be comfortable.

He sat down beside her, watching her intently. A few strands of her pink hair had fallen into her face. He gently pushed them away. Seeing her like this, it reminded him of the night he'd found her in Sector 5.

There were dark circles under her eyes. Her expression was pained.

He wondered what she was dreaming right now. Back when he had found her, she had been plagued by nightmares.

"_Miss?" He shook her gently. "Wake up." To his surprise she opened her eyes. But she didn't seem to see him. Her fever was getting worse by the minute. "Miss?" he tried again but didn't get a reaction from her._

Vincent could barely suppress a shudder as he remembered. He certainly didn't scare easy. But her blank stare had seriously creeped him out. Luckily, it hadn't happened again. And it was one more reason not to wake her up. He could not bear to see this empty look again. Not from her.

So he would wait until she woke up on her own.

"I hope your rest is untroubled now," he said quietly, lightly tracing his fingers across her cheek. He really wanted to help her, to protect her. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn't fail her as well. If he did, he thought he couldn't live with himself anymore.

But he couldn't stay at her side all the time. She wouldn't want him to. It seemed, at times, that she tried to avoid him. But then again, she didn't seem to mind talking to him, spending time with him, when they met. She obviously wasn't as uncomfortable in his presence as she used to be in the beginning.

That thought was oddly comforting.

He knew that he had intimidated her when they had first talked. Though that had not been his intention. That was why he had kept his distance for a few days after that. But when he had heard that Reeve and Rufus wanted to run various tests with her, he simply had not been able to stay away any longer.

Of course, the situation was a completely different one. And he actually trusted Reeve. But still, it had reminded him of Lucrecia. He certainly didn't want to feel as helpless as he had back then. Unable to help, to do anything but watch.

He would not let Naomi suffer just because he failed to act.

"I promise that you can always count on me."

She stirred beside him, shifting in her sleep. Now she lay close to the edge of the bed, in danger of falling down.

He gathered her in his arms, holding her close. Safe from harm. If he could keep her like this... As long as she was safe, he thought that everything could be okay.

Vincent got up and sat down on a chair next to the bed, trying to disturb neither Tifa nor Naomi, still keeping his arms wrapped around the guitarist's slender frame. She did not wake up, only shifted into a more comfortable position with a sigh.

* * *

Naomi seemed to be on her own for a change. There was no one who tried to kidnap her. No one giving her mysterious warnings.

There was just blissful silence.

She felt like she was floating. Through what, she couldn't tell. It was neither completely dark nor really bright. More like some kind of twilight. But this didn't describe it as well.

She knew she was sleeping. She was also aware that she would wake up soon. She was hovering on that fine line between sleep and wakefulness.

She could feel that someone was close to her outside of her would-be dream. Somehow, the presence felt familiar to her, though she couldn't tell who it was. Naomi didn't mind this person being there. She even welcomed them. She felt safe. Comfortable.

Whoever it was gently pushed her hair out of her face. They caressed her cheek, softly, as if trying not to wake her up.

She couldn't remember when she had last felt so secure.

Then a voice spoke to her – whispered, really. She couldn't make out the words, but it sounded like a promise. She wanted to wake up, see who it was.

She struggled with her consciousness, which refused to surface. When she finally managed to open her eyes she was deeply disappointed to find out that she was alone.

Naomi drew a shuddering breath. Now that she was awake she wasn't sure if that person had been real – or just a figment of her imagination. Or maybe a memory.

Cursing under her breath she got up and took a quick shower. While she dressed her mind was on the surreal encounter. If it had really happened, there were not a whole lot of people who could have been there with her.

If it had not...

She bit her lower lip. Whatever may be the case – she was certain that it had hit her really bad.

_Damn!_

How could she have let this happen? Now there was no way for her to go home without suffering from the loss. But staying here was also a bad idea.

Shaking her head she grabbed her key card and her mobile phone, then left her apartment. Right in front of the door she stopped dead in her tracks. How come she woke up here? She certainly remembered being at the infirmary, watching over Tifa. Until she couldn't stay awake anymore due to exhaustion.

So someone had gone to the trouble of carrying her to her bed. And she could think of only one person who would do that.

_Fuck!_

So it had been real after all. She briefly wondered what he could have said to her while she had been asleep. But then she decided that she'd rather not know. He still suffered from his own heartbreak. Whatever he might have promised, it had probably been out of guilt. Because of what had happened to that chick.

She wouldn't burden him with her own problems as well. And she didn't want him to feel obligated to be nice to her. Just because she was so god damn stupid.

Hadn't she learned anything until now?

Maybe some damage control was in order now. First, though, she really needed some coffee, and breakfast. Second, she had to get a few answers. If it helped to get her mind off her dilemma – great.

Though... simply going home didn't really seem an option anymore. Genesis had found her there once and brought her to this world. Who said he couldn't just do it again if she returned? And then there would be no Vincent, no Reno or anyone else to look after her.

She exhaled sharply as she hit the button for the elevator. It wouldn't help her at all, wondering about these things. Obviously she needed to get rid of this Genesis guy before she could even consider going back. And it would just get harder for her the longer she stayed here.

"Well, look who's awake!" a dark haired, Asian looking girl said as she entered the canteen.

She raised an eyebrow. Did she know her? "Sorry, but who are you?"

The girl gave her a mock salute. "I'm Yuffie, world class ninja deluxe," she said with a grin. "Here to help."

Naomi blinked at her. Ninja? Somehow, she wasn't really surprised that they had those here as well. She had learned that the people here knew a few things she'd known from Earth. It seemed that there were even more similarities than she would have thought possible.

"Breakfast?" Yuffie asked.

Naomi nodded. "Pretty much needed right now," she grumbled. "Especially coffee."

"Mind if I join you?"

She shook her head. That was fine with her. Anything to distract her.

Yuffie filled a tray with enough food for at least three people. Naomi took two cups of coffee. Together they headed for an empty table.

"I was meaning to ask you before," Yuffie started as they sat down. "Reno charged me with bringing you food the other day. But it was Vince who took it."

Naomi sipped her coffee. "So you brought it? I thought that was Reno."

"Yeah, that was me. But that's not the point." Yuffie put the tray in the centre of the table so they could share. "What's up with you and Vince?"

Naomi choked on her coffee. "What?" she gasped. "Nothing."

"Are you sure?" Yuffie regarded her with a scrutinising look. "He sure made it look like there was something going on. Especially when he looked the door."

She gaped at the ninja. "That was him?" she asked weakly.

"Yes. You didn't know?"

The guitarist shook her head. Why had he done that? To be alone with her. They had been talking about some serious stuff then. Maybe he hadn't wanted anyone to interrupt. Heat rose to her cheeks. There couldn't be any other reason. Maybe she needed to have a talk with him about that.

"But you like him," Yuffie stated matter-of-factly.

"Huh?"

"Or at least, he likes you, I think."

Naomi still wasn't sure if she had heard correctly.

"Aw, c'mon. Do you think he would spend so much time with you if he didn't? And you can't deny that he's really good looking." Yuffie grinned at her.

Naomi shot her an incredulous stare. "And you seriously expect me to go for someone just because of his _looks_?"

"No, I –"

"If that were the case, then I'd have to go for a fair few guys here," she continued with a wave of her hand.

"That's not what I –"

"What, then?" Naomi demanded, pushing the tray away. Now she'd lost her appetite. And that certainly didn't happen often.

"I'm sorry," Yuffie said meekly. "I just hoped... you know, Vince really deserves to be happy for a change."

"I'm not saying he doesn't," Naomi replied. Heck, if there was anyone who deserved to be happy, it was definitely Vincent. "But so do other people. And I don't see where I fit in."

Yuffie snorted. "Like I said, I think he likes you."

Naomi shook her head. "I don't think he likes me that way," she said quietly. "Anyway, there's still Genesis out there. And I'm not..." She took a deep breath. "He really deserves better, no matter what."

Yuffie stared at her. "You're not serious?"

"I am."

The ninja narrowed her eyes at her. In her opinion, this settled the matter. But she was smart enough not to pester the young woman any more right now. That wouldn't accomplish anything. So she would have to try to find another way to find out if there really was anything going on with them. She was convinced there was. But obviously both of them wouldn't want to admit it any time soon.

But maybe she could help with that.


	13. Back to work

_**A/N:**__ See? I actually managed to be a bit quicker with this chapter than the last one. Maybe that's because I wrote part of this chapter before I finished chapter 12. But since I couldn't use it for the previous chapter anymore, I still had to edit it. A lot. I hope you enjoy it._

* * *

**Chapter 13: Back to work**

_Wake up!_

Everything was dark around her.

Where was she?

There were people somewhere nearby, that much she knew. She could feel someone holding her hand.

But who?

She thought that she was actually supposed to know. The presence was comfortably familiar, albeit a bit different from what she remembered it to be.

Then her hand was being released.

_No, don't go_, she wanted to say but found she couldn't.

She heard some shuffling close to her. People talking in hushed voices. Like someone had died. Or was very, very sick.

What had happened?

She just couldn't remember.

_Please, you need to wake up!_

She knew she'd heard the voice before, though she didn't associate it with the presence she'd felt. Right now it was silent. So no one was there at the moment. At least she thought so. But still...

Before she had started to notice what happened around her she had been dreaming. The memory was already fading. The only thing she definitely remembered was that she'd seen a pair of bright green eyes. It must have been Aerith, right?

As she drifted through the darkness, the image of the green eyes appeared again. There was a face as well, but it was hazy, so she couldn't recognise it. But it certainly looked familiar.

_Wake up, please!_

How long had she been out? It felt like an eternity, but like it always was with being unconscious, it might have been only ten minutes. She couldn't tell.

"Miss Lockhart?"

This voice she didn't know. It was male and sounded rather pleasant. Who could it be? She'd know if it were Cloud. Or Reno. Or Vincent. Or any other of her friends. She felt compelled to open her eyes, just to see who the voice belonged to.

"What happened?" she muttered.

"Someone beat you up," he replied, a frown on his handsome face. "Real bad, from what I gather. I am glad that you finally regained consciousness. The others will be as well."

"How long have I been out?" she wanted to know. Now she remembered. Genesis had wanted Naomi. But there was no way Tifa would betray her friend. Especially not to someone like him. So he had taken his anger about her refusal to help him, and about the fact that Naomi hadn't been there for him to collect, out on Tifa.

He hesitated. "Two days, I think," he said slowly. "Or three. I'm sorry. I just started here this morning and haven't been able to catch up on everything yet."

"That's okay," she croaked with what she intended to be a reassuring smile, but which turned into a grimace instead. "How come?"

He tried to suppress a laugh. "Your friend was obviously worried sick, at least that's what they told me. She managed to scare a nurse off pretty thoroughly, so the nurse quit."

Tifa blinked at him. "Naomi?"

"I believe that was her name, yes."

"What did she do?"

He chuckled lowly. "Apparently she wouldn't leave your side and the nurse wanted to kick her out." He grinned at her. "She did not like that."

A wide grin spread on Tifa's face as well. She was admittedly touched by the fact that Naomi had seemingly gone out of her way to stay by her side. Even though she already had enough on her plate. But right now, she was nowhere in sight.

"She's sleeping," he told her, judging the look on her face correctly.

"How do you know?" Tifa asked cautiously. He seemed to be nice, and he worked for Reeve, but she didn't really know him.

He shrugged. "I heard the staff talk about it. I may be the new guy but I make it a point to know what I have to in order to do my job. Besides, people just can't help but gossip, whatever the occupation."

She gave him a once-over. His dark hair fell into his face, barely being kept out of his wine-coloured eyes by a pair of glasses.

"Oh. I'm sorry." He shook his head slightly. "I'm Kyle." Then he got up. "I'm going to get you something to drink. Do you need anything else?"

"I need to talk to Reeve."

Kyle sighed. "I fear the Commissioner is busy with something important."

"This is important, too."

"I will see what I can do."

"Thanks." Watching his retreating form, she leaned back. She felt sore all over. But that was to be expected. Though somehow she didn't feel as bad as she thought she should after the fight. She knew she had been severely wounded. Probably mortally so. Maybe it had been Aerith helping with her recovery. After what Kyle had told her, it may be something else.

There was a reason why Genesis wanted Naomi. That had always been out of the question. What had he called her? _Gift of the Goddess_. Tifa wondered what he meant by that. Had he really meant her? Or something else? Maybe it was something she had that he wanted.

But what could that be?

* * *

Reeve jumped in surprise as someone threw a stack of papers onto his desk. Upon looking up he saw Naomi glaring at him. He couldn't tell if she was still mad at him for the lack of information on his part, or because she'd had to leave Tifa for this conversation. Somehow, he couldn't blame her, though. "What is this?"

She snorted. "You wanted some information, right?" she replied with a raised eyebrow. "So, here it is. My birth certificate, passport and any other document I could find. I hope you will find some answers in there. Though I actually doubt it, because I certainly don't."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "We'll see." He tilted his head. "I understand that you are not pleased with the situation," he said, examining the papers. "And I apologise for not telling you earlier. But we're trying to help you as best we can." Reeve paused, picking a specific piece of paper out of the stack.

"What?" Naomi stepped closer.

"Nothing. Yet." He looked at her. "Why don't you sit down?" He indicated a comfortable looking chair.

As she followed his invitation she noticed that he looked about as tired as she felt. A twinge of guilt stabbed her. "Sorry for being such a burden."

He shook his head. "Don't worry. You're not. And it's not your fault," he assured her. "Coffee?"

"Sure, thanks." She took the cup he offered, wrapping her fingers around it. "When did you last sleep?"

Reeve rubbed his face. "I don't remember," he muttered. "Why, do I look that horrible?"

Naomi winced. "You do look like you've been working day and night, if you don't mind me saying so."

He sipped his own coffee, watching her over the rim of his cup. "Well, it would certainly help if you didn't scare off my staff," he said lightly.

"If your staff scares that easy, it's not my fault," Naomi grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "What did she try to get me away from Tifa for, anyway?"

"She wanted to do her job properly."

"I wasn't keeping her from doing that."

Reeve shook his head. "I only know what she told me. I had to find a substitute."

"But you did find one?" she enquired.

He nodded. "Luckily, I did."

"That's good, then." She sighed. "Look. I'm sorry. I know it's hard on everyone here."

A small smile appeared on his face. "As well as on you," he added. "I'm just glad that at least Vincent is able to handle you when you're in a bad mood."

She huffed at that. "I was just worried about Tifa."

"How is she?"

Naomi grimaced. "Still unconscious when I last saw her. The paramedics say they can't do much for her as long as she won't wake up."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Me too. If I ever happen to meet this bastard I'll knock him out for what he did to her."

"What about you?"

"Huh?" She looked at him in bewilderment. "What's with me?"

Reeve raised an eyebrow. "Don't you care about what Genesis did to you? Or what he might want to do with you?"

She blinked at him. "Yeah, I do care. He kidnapped me," she muttered darkly. "But still. What he did to Tifa is way worse. For that alone I should kill him."

"Did you meet him before? Or did you hear his name before Vincent told you about him?"

"Can't say I have." She ran a hand through her hair. "There's a music group called _Genesis_ where I come from. And I've read the term in books. But as a person? No."

"Hm."

"What do you think he wants?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. But as of now, we don't really know where to start. Or where he is, so we can keep an eye on him." He put his cup down. "We sent the Turks out to look for something that might help us find out what we need to know. But I don't know if they found anything yet."

"So that's why I haven't seen Reno lately," she mused. She had barely noticed his absence until now. Tifa had been more important to her, to tell the truth, than wondering about the redhead's whereabouts.

He nodded. "There is something else I need to talk to you about." He considered her for a moment. "If Vincent hasn't told you about it as well, that is."

She shook her head. "He only told me about this Genesis guy. Because you didn't."

"I am sorry about that. But there has been so much going on here..."

She waved her hand impatiently. "I know. Vincent told me." She heaved a sigh. "But still... I would have preferred to hear about it straight away. You did promise to give me the truth, after all." Sitting up straight, she propped her elbows on the desk. "So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Reeve took a deep breath before he explained to her what a Synaptic Net Dive was and what he hoped they would achieve doing one.

Naomi gaped at him. "You can do stuff like that here?" she asked weakly. She wasn't sure if she was comfortable with someone rummaging through her memories. But if it helped find an answer...

"Not just anyone can do this," Reeve replied. "But it is possible." He tilted his head. "Rest assured. We are mainly interested in what happened the day you arrived here. Chances are that you subconsciously remember something that might help us."

"Like that dream," she murmured, more to herself.

"What dream?" he asked curiously.

"Well..." she sighed. Then she told him what she remembered about the dream she'd had before waking up in Vincent's apartment.

Reeve stared at her for several moments. "This person you saw in that dream," he started tersely, "do you remember what he looked like?"

"Of course I do," she replied, confusion evident in her voice and on her face. "It was someone I happen to be acquainted with, unfortunately."

He pushed back from the desk and went over to a file cabinet, searching for something. When he found what he had been looking for he returned to her with a file. He opened it. The first page contained a photo.

Naomi's confusion was mixed with growing irritation. She didn't know what to make of all this. "That's him," she said stiffly. "How come _you_ have his picture?"

"That's Genesis."

She almost dropped her coffee in shock. "No way."

He nodded. "It is."

"But..." She put the cup down and ran both her hands through her face. "How is that possible? I've known that guy for a while. And I know his name is not Genesis."

"Maybe the man you know is not Genesis himself, but a clone," he replied grimly.

Naomi shook her head numbly. "So you think...?"

"It is possible that he sent out his clones to look for you. Presumably he knew about you for a while. How, I cannot tell."

She raised her eyes to his face. "Why me?"

"Believe me, we'd like to know that as well."

"So we can agree that this Genesis guy is responsible for me being here, right?"

"Probably." He looked at her expectantly.

"So if he could bring me here, he's able to take me back as well," she stated.

"We don't know that."

"Let's just assume he can. Not that he'd do that, of course," she added bitterly.

Reeve gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry," he said. "If we could just find out how –"

"To send me back?" she interrupted him. "What do you think that will accomplish?" She snorted in dismay. "Don't you think he would just try again, then? And probably succeed this time?"

Someone laid a hand onto her shoulder, making her jump. She looked up and saw Vincent standing beside her. As usual, she hadn't even noticed his approach. He was really good with this stealth thing.

"I do not wish to admit this," he said quietly with a pointed look at Reeve. "But it may be safer for her to stay with us for now. At least until we have dealt with Genesis."

She had to agree with him, even if she didn't like it. She turned back to Reeve. "You can still try to find a way to get me back later," she conceded. "But until we've got rid of that fucking bastard, I'll have to stay, don't you think?"

Reeve rubbed his temples wearily. "Agreed," he finally said. "I understand that you wish to leave as soon as you can, though."

Vincent tightened his grip on her shoulder and she winced. "It's not so much that I hate this place, but I am homesick," she said miserably. "I miss my friends. They're like a family to me." Right now, she really hated Genesis for forcing this dilemma on her. She barely cared about his reasons. But leaving Tifa and Reno – and Vincent – behind when she returned would be just as bad as missing Kôji, Yûichi and Luca was now. Not that she would ever admit that.

"If we could find a way to keep Genesis from going after you again, then you could return home without a worry," Vincent said calmly.

She looked round at him. Was he kidding? How could she _not_ worry after what Genesis had done to Tifa? What if that jerk – gods forbid – took his anger out on Reno next? Or... she shuddered. Marlene? And she didn't even want to think about what might happen if he got to Vincent. She shook her head vehemently. "Forget it," she retorted firmly. "He is a threat. Not only to me, but to others as well. We will see this through before I go home. Or I won't be able to sleep at night."

"If we gather the old crowd," Reeve said thoughtfully, "we might be a match for Genesis." He looked up at Vincent. "We fought Jenova, Sephiroth and Deep Ground. I don't think he can be that much worse."

"Maybe," Naomi put in. "But do you know how many people are working for – or with – him? What if he still has minions at my home who would just send me back here as soon as I arrive?"

Reeve stared at her. Damn. He had not considered that.

She shrugged, aiming for nonchalance. "Anyway. As long as we don't even know how I can get home, there is no point discussing this further, is there?" She stood up. "I'll have to stay. At least for now."

Now Vincent removed his hand from her shoulder and she couldn't help wishing he hadn't. It had felt rather reassuring. More than anything they had said.

"Let us just hope that the Turks will find the information we need," the gunslinger said. "Until then, I will see to her protection." He looked at her. "If you do not mind."

She crossed her arms. "It's okay," she said meekly. She only hoped... What? That he liked her? Or that she would finally see some sense? She didn't want to think about that right now.

Reeve looked from Vincent to Naomi and back. "About the SND..."

Naomi tore her gaze from Vincent's face. "What?" she enquired. "That's still necessary?"

"We might find some information that you don't remember." He made an expansive gesture. "Like what those files said you saw in your dream."

"I didn't read any of those," she replied irritably. "Like I know anything about science." She rolled her eyes.

"But still," Reeve said relentlessly. "If we knew what those files were about..."

"I... they were about some sort of projects," Naomi said slowly, trying to remember. "Project... Something."

"Like _Project S_?" Vincent asked quietly.

"Exactly!" She snapped her fingers. "There was one file about _Project S_ and one about _Project G_!" she exclaimed. "But I didn't even bother with those. I only took that other one with me..." Her voice trailed off. "But I'm not sure what that one was labelled." She shrugged helplessly. "I lost it anyway."

"Do not worry," Vincent told her. "It might mean nothing. If it does I will make sure that we find it."

"Vincent."

He turned to look at Reeve.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked. "Alone?"

He inclined his head. "I assume that you will want to visit Tifa," he said to Naomi. "I will follow shortly."

She gave them both a confused look. More secrets they could keep from her? Hopefully, this was nothing that concerned her. She may be curious, but she did know where to draw the line, so she wasn't overly nosy. She scowled and then left Reeve's office, heading for the infirmary.

_Damn_, she thought. _If only I could remember what that file was about..._ If she had at least remembered the title, maybe that would have helped. She usually had a rather good memory. But since she had been dreaming all this stuff, some of the details were still lost to her. And if she hadn't forgotten so much about her dreams – _Heck, I forgot to tell him that they were more._ – then she could probably avoid this memory dive whatever thing.

She shuddered. Did she really want to do this? What would Vincent say about it? He was probably against it, or wasn't he?

Naomi stopped dead in her tracks. It rather surprised her that she valued his opinion so much. But who was she to know what he thought? She shook her head.

It didn't matter. There was not much she would want to hide from anyone anyway. And if they really just wanted to look at her memories from that fateful day, she should be okay with that. As long as they didn't look too closely at anything else...

Heaving a deep sigh she continued her way to visit Tifa. She desperately hoped that the brunette would wake up soon. How else was she supposed to apologise to her? She knew it was not really her fault that Genesis had attacked her friend. But still, she couldn't help feeling guilty. At least to a certain point. If it weren't for her, Genesis would never even have considered going to the bar. That guy was after _her_, for Heaven's sake! Without Naomi, no one would have gotten hurt. Then they wouldn't have to try to find a solution for her problem. It wasn't even theirs.

Naomi groaned in frustration. If she continued thinking like this, she might end up like Vincent. And as much as she liked him, she didn't want that. Besides, he most likely wouldn't want that as well, since he knew what it was like. So she should try to see things more positively. Like she had used to before coming here.


End file.
